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10 Times Bill Belichick Trolled the NFL

Written by Jeremy

No modern NFL coach has the fame or championship pedigree of Bill Belichick.

With four Super Bowl rings as a head coach, a 200-71 record with New England, and 14 AFC East titles, Belichick may be the greatest coach of all time.

As it turns out, he’s also pretty good at trolling the NFL, including players, rival coaches, and the league in general.

Here’s a look at 10 of Belichick’s best trolls — some of which are subtle, and others that aren’t.

1. Funky Formation against John Harbaugh’s Ravens

In 2014, the New England Patriots came back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. Afterward, John Harbaugh wouldn’t shut up about how the Patriots were using “substitution tricks” and borderline illegal formations.

So when the two teams met in the 2016 regular season, the first thing that Belichick made sure to do was line his team up in the same funky formation.

2. Belichick Says Defensive Players aren’t “Good Enough on Offense”

During a 2016 press conference, Belichick was asked if he looks for players who’ve played the same position their whole lives during scouting. And he delivered a gem about how defensive players aren’t good enough to play offense.

Here’s one excerpt from his comments:

“No, I just think it is what it is. I mean look, a lot of defensive players get moved to offense because they’re not good enough on offense, right? High school coaches, college coaches, if they have somebody better and you have another good player at that position, instead of stacking them up you just move them somewhere where he can get on the field quicker.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qJt4aoaKs

3. Belichick Named His Boat “VI Rings”

Belichick purchased a motorboat in 2000 and started naming it after the 2 rings he’d won as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.

Belichick has renamed his boat following every Super Bowl win, and it’s now up to VI Rings (2 with Giants, 4 with Patriots).

4. Making Ty Law Honorary Captain against Denver Broncos

Before the 2015 AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos, Belichick made Ty Law — a player who retired in 2009 — an honorary captain.

With Peyton Manning starting for the Broncos, it’s believed that Belichick wanted to remind No. 18 of his failures against the Patriots defense.

5. Belichick Is Giddy about New Rush Uniforms

Considering that his style includes hoodies and more hoodies, Bill Belichick isn’t worried about having stylish uniforms. So when the NFL and Nike put their heads together and forced teams to wear “color-rush” uniforms, Belichick could care less.

Here’s what he had to say following a 27-0 win over the Houston Texans in 2016.

“Yeah, I wish that was all there was to it. Just put on a new pair of socks and change uniforms or something like that. There’s a lot more to it than that. I can’t even tell you how excited I was about the uniforms last night. It was really incredible.”

6. Trolls Rob Gronkoski’s Kitten Photo Shoot

Not usually the prankster, coach Belichick started off a team meeting by unveiling Gronk’s kitten photo shoot for ESPN the Magazine.

The room reportedly lost it after seeing the photos.

7. Taking Aim at Microsoft, NFL Sideline Tablets

Microsoft paid the NFL $400 million so that league coaches would use their Surface tablets. After using his Microsoft Surface, Belichick got pissed and tossed the device. He also went on a rant after the game about how he’d be sticking to papers.

“As you probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets,” he said. “They’re just too undependable for me. I’m going to stick with pictures, which several of our other coaches do, as well, because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets. I just can’t take it anymore.”

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Microsoft and their tablets.

8. Belichick Flatters 4-7 Philadelphia Eagles

In Dec. 2015, Belichick’s 10-1 Patriots were set to play the hapless 4-7 Philadelphia Eagles. His succession of compliments about Philadelphia prompted some to wonder if he was secretly trolling them.

As you read the following comments, keep in mind that Philadelphia had been outscored 90-17 in their prior two games. Strangely enough, they beat New England 35-28.

https://twitter.com/EliotShorrParks/status/672054482214105088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

9. Cuts Tim Tebow after Convincing Him to Turn Down $1m Endorsement

In 2013, Tim Tebow signed with the New England Patriots in hopes that he would someday take over for Tom Brady. Instead, the former Heisman winner got cut the final week of the preseason.

Afterward, Tebow revealed that he turned down a $1 million endorsement after speaking with Belichick…only to be cut soon after.

https://twitter.com/FauxAndyLuck/status/803609353899143170

10. Signing Tim Tebow

The fact that Belichick, who’s also the Patriots’ GM, signed Tim Tebow in the first place was seen as a troll on the division rival New York Jets.

Here’s some context on this provided by NY Post writer Steve Serby:

“Of course it is Bill Belichick who throws Tim Tebow a life raft back to the NFL now, the one man and maybe the only man who is capable of fitting a square peg into a round hole. The one man and maybe the only man capable of keeping Tebowmania from turning Robert Kraft’s three-ring franchise into a three-ring circus.

“And you just know Belichick, with the help of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who drafted Tebow in the first round in Denver, would love nothing better than to kick the Jets while they’re down should he somehow orchestrate The Resurrection.”