Patriots coach Bill Belichick took some criticism this week when he said Patriots fans should be optimistic because of “the last 25 years,” and today he took the rare step of clarifying his remarks.
Belichick told Jim McBride of the Boston Globe that he wasn’t intending to imply that anyone should be satisfied with the Patriots’ recent results just because they were successful for so many years.
“We’re not resting on our past laurels; that’s not the message to the team or the fans,” Belichick said. “We have never operated that way and aren’t now.”
Among those who criticized Belichick for his “last 25 years” remark was Tedy Bruschi, the former Patriot who said on ESPN that Belichick used to harp on players about ignoring past accomplishments and focusing only on the task at hand. Belichick may also have been feeling some heat after Patriots owner Robert Kraft didn’t directly answer when asked whether Belichick’s job could be in jeopardy if the Patriots have a losing season.
Kraft did say he would love to see Belichick break Don Shula’s all-time coaching wins record, but Belichick said he can’t concern himself with his place in history.
“I have a great respect for the game and all that, [but] I’m not really focused on that right now,” he said. “The 2023 season is all I’m concerned about.”
And the last 25 years don’t mean much of anything to 2023.