With the return of the NFL’s annual “Salute to Service” campaign, football fans likely noticed the abundance of green, military-themed gear on the sidelines across the league Sunday.
Now in its eighth year, the annual campaign is intended to honor the country’s service members and veterans and raises money for organizations that support their families. However, one notable figure has always abstained from the more visible, performative aspects of the November campaign: Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Despite growing up at the Naval Academy as the son of a WWII veteran and having a deep interest in military history, Belichick has eschewed the military-inspired camouflage and olive-colored sideline jackets, hats, and headsets donned by nearly every other NFL coach and many Patriots assistants — and commercialized by the league — in favor of his normal, understated look.