Bill Belichick had plenty of “Spygate” drama to deal with almost 20 years ago, so it’s no surprise he doesn’t want to rehash the scandal for a documentary.
But several of his former players were more than happy to spill the beans about the incident.
Fox News reports that the former New England Patriots coach brushed aside a question about the controversy when asked about it during Apple TV’s documentary series, The Dynasty: New England Patriots. The series covers the Patriots’ glory years under Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
In the latest episode, the topic turned to Spygate. The Patriots were caught filming opposing coaches during the 2007 season. The incident generated intense criticism of the team, drew Congressional attention, and resulted in huge penalties for the Patriots and Belichick, who got slapped with a $500,000 fine.
So it’s understandable why the 71-year-old coach did not want to rehash all that.
“Yeah, again, that’s all in the past,” Belichick said when asked about the controversy. “I’ve made my comments on that. I don’t have anything to add.”
But several of Belichick’s former players said the controversy infuriated Belichick and drove him to push the team harder that season.
Safety Rodney Harrison, now an analyst on NBC’s Football Night in America, told the docuseries the Pats often took that anger out on other teams.
“Our goal was to blow everybody out the water,” Harrison said. “**** ’em all. That’s our mentality. That’s our little thing. **** ’em all.”
“Spygate, we all took it personal,” wide receiver Donte Stallworth said. “We’re not out here just to win games. We’re out here to *****’ make you quit. We want to do very bad things to you.”
ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, a star linebacker on that 2007 team, said Spygate made Belichick “relentless.”
“This is how we knew when he felt it: That offense kept scoring. Bill was just relentless,” Bruschi said. “We’d up by 20, 30 points, and he’s telling the offense, ‘Do it. Again.’ We’re beating people’s *** so bad that we’re the bad guys. I sort of liked it, though.”
The 10-episode series premiered Feb. 16 on Apple TV.
As far as Belichick these days, while some insiders think he’ll land a coaching role for the 2025 season, he’s also reportedly eager to do TV work next season.
[Fox News]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.