FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Bill Belichick has never hidden his affinity for football history.
New England's coach is enamored with the game’s evolution and contributions by its pioneers, their names etched like hashmarks in the annals of the sport where he's spent nearly four decades.
After the Patriots’ win at Cleveland last week, Belichick asked his players to walk back onto the field before leaving the stadium to glance at its Ring of Honor and the names of Jim Brown, Paul Brown, Bill Willis, Marion Motley and Ozzie Newsome.
“I told them I thought they should go out there and just think for a minute about some of the sacrifices that those guys made,” Belichick said.