“Mourning” Bill Belichick’s Patriots Departure, Mike McDaniel

It was Bill Belichick’s day, as this week’s postseason rival coaches heaped admiration upon the former head coach of the New England Patriots.

At a press conference on Thursday, Robert Kraft and Belichick declared their joint decision to split. It was a sudden change for many inside Gillette Stadium, but both parties expressed that they thought the time was appropriate to move on.

Andy Reid, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, commended Belichick for getting his squad ready for their game against the Miami Dolphins. And in addition to Belichick’s departure from New England, his adversary also responded more poignantly to Nick Saban’s anticipated retirement and the Seattle Seahawks parting ways with Pete Carroll.

According to Chris Mason of MassLive, McDaniel told reporters, “It’s really mixed emotions.” Together with Pete Carroll and Coach Saban, I’m just a little shocked by it. They have equal blame for the current state of the game as everyone else present. For being able to do what they’ve done for so long, I have the utmost respect and appreciation. I know firsthand how much sacrifice is required to perform this job. It’s giving back. What a gift and what a chance, but you have to put a lot of effort into it. I have nothing but praise for coach Belichick after seeing him do it for 25 years; in fact, I include coach Carroll and Nick Saban as well since it seems to work the same way.

“To be honest, it serves as a reminder to me that Father Time is an. You’re aware? In reality, he is not a kind man. However, it is true. I believe it serves as a reminder that nothing is infinite. Many people, in my opinion, have received a great deal of inspiration and perspective. It’s been amazing to observe Coach Belichick’s leadership style. His 24 years under the leadership of one organization weren’t due to entertaining news briefings. It was a result of his careful performance of his duties. I thus hold them in high regard, and as you can see, I’m definitely still in grief over their deaths.