Bill Belichick knows where the money is made. Or at least where it gets its start in a football sense.
“There's nobody that loves football more than Ohio. I know that from being here. Absolutely,” the New England Patriots head coach and five-time Super Bowl champion said on Thursday at the Ohio State Coaches Clinic. “At every level. From the Hall Of Fame, to the high school football programs. All the colleges and high schools, this is a football state.”
Belichick used to coach in Ohio, taking his first NFL head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns ahead of the 1991 season. His success in the highest level of football in America didn't come until he landed with the Patriots in 2000 (Belichick went 36-44 with the Browns in five seasons and parted ways with the franchise when it moved to Baltimore in 1995) but makes a point to return to the Buckeye State annually.
“As you know, I spent five years in Cleveland and of the many things I've learned, it's the passion for football in this state.”
It also helps he has a great relationship with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano. Belichick said on Thursday he took various team-building exercises like tug of war and mat drills from Meyer and strength coach Mickey Marotti after seeing them used at the University of Florida. His attendance at the Ohio State coaches clinic is what Meyer described as a "swing for the fences that resulted in a home run."
“I would argue [he is] the top coach in the history of professional sports,” Meyer said Thursday. “I think we’re doing the right thing here because we model our program a lot of the same ways that he does. He believes in culture, he believes in character and he believes in doing it the right away.”
The vision is shared between the two men, as well as the affinity for one other for what each man does at his own level of football. Belichick has been at Ohio State's Pro Day the last few years, usually standing right alongside Meyer to see the next batch of talent the Buckeyes are set to send to the pros. Here is more of what Meyer said of Belichick as he introduced him to the high school and college coaches in attendance:
Urban Meyer introduces 5-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick at the Ohio State coaches clinic: pic.twitter.com/zLCYz80ZkR
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) April 13, 2017
Belichick said he didn't think twice about accepting to speak at the clinic since it was Meyer and since it was Ohio State. He knows how important it is to be a presence in the state.
“This is about football for me. There's a lot of great other sports at Ohio State, I respect all of those, my daughter coached lacrosse here,” he said. “Nothing is taking anything away from that. Ohio State is about football. And that's what it should be.”
