Belichick's Contract Status - A Distraction?

Brick said:

Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying he is leaving but why not clear it up now and eliminate a possible distraction down the road?

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There are many reasons:

1. It's not a distraction to the people that matter - the players. If anything, uncertainty here it puts them MORE in mood to "win now" which is a good thing.

2. Precedent. It's the same reason the government STILL refuses to acknowledge the existance of Groom Lake (so called "Area 51") even though there are photographs and testimony about it. If I ask you "did you cheat on your wife?" five times and you respond "no, no, no, no, no comment" then I just learned something changed with that last response. The only way to keep it secret is to respond "no comment" EVERY time so that not even the slightest change in fact can be determined from the response. This policy benefits Belichick.

3. No more Parcells-style dramas. The issue with Parcells was not his leaving, it was his leaving becoming public, including timing and details. This policy means that if/when it is finally time for Belichick to retire (or leave) that final season or playoffs is spared the distraction. It also sets up a dynamic where the press tires of the constant rumoring, most of which will be wrong and make them look bad if they post it. If you have a situation where normally there are no rumors, and then suddenly some come up, the media will think there is a story. With this approach, the rumors are a sort of protective "white noise" around the situation. This benefits the Krafts.

Belichick's contract uncertainty from year to year is very similar to Tom Brady being listed as "probable" from week to week. This effectively hides any week in which Brady actually IS probable and removes the possible distraction that week. Remember the Brady "tired arm" theory a few years ago? It was effectively crushed by the Probable thing every week. In the case of Belichick, any year in which there really is some uncertainty just blends in to all the other years of "we can neither confirm, nor deny..."

No one coaches forever and there will be a time when this uncertainty matters. Compared to the very real distraction of the "farewell tour" type seasons of Cowher and others, I'll gladly take the uncertainty when the inevitable happens.

Tunescribe said:

That makes perfect sense to me. So I'm wondering, from whom/what does the monk receive instructions on exactly what to put into the contract?

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I know, but If I told you, i'd have to kill you...

Brick said:

I'm guessing you have all heard the rumors/speculation that BB may be in the last year of his contract. I wonder why Coach Belichick and Kraft are so tight lipped about his contract status? I understand that BB is not usually forthcoming but at some point the secrecy may become a bigger distraction than if he (or Kraft) simply released a one sentence statement as to his contract status.

Does anyone doubt that the media will latch onto this topic at some point? BB's silence will be deafening but unfortunately this response (or lack thereof) will fuel even more speculation. Admittedly this may sound paranoid but I can envison a media frenzy similar to the '96 Parcells distraction during playoff time.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying he is leaving but why not clear it up now and eliminate a possible distraction down the road?

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Not sure you should post this based on conjecture, we have discussed this ad infinitum.. no one know his status, but what we do know that in the past Jonathan Kraft has said he is under contract to the NEP and the owners are very satisfied with his performance.. there is no issue here, except boredom.

Brady to Brown said:

As a Patriot fan I would like to know what Bills plans are going forward.

I guess its none of my business

Bill does not want me to know. I don't like that about him.

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That's a perceptive and fair statement. Yes, as a fan, I'd like to know, but as a guy who is looking out for his own best interests, BB wants to keep contractual matters to himself. Clearly, he makes this a condition of his employment and I wouldn't be surprised if a highly restrictive and punitive confidentiality clause is written into his contract.

I am one of his biggest admirers, but there are things about BB that I don't like either, but (a) he doesn't care and (b) it doesn't matter.

I keep suggesting to people that they read the late David Halberstam's book on Coach. His personality and approach to the game and life are a lot clearer after you've gone through it.

psychoPat said:

It is posts like these
that send me scurrying
to finger my signature reverently
and obsessively.

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"... we’re not building for just the 2007 season, we’re building for ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, so this is long-term. .... We take a long-range look. Bill and I want to be there for a while, we want to have success. It’s not just about building and making a quick run at it, we want to try to sustain success.”
- - - Scott Pioli, 3/31/07


Evidently, people choose not to believe the obvious.

From what SP said at the "dinner with the coach" event that I attended (where he stated how motivated he is to win and showed no signs of being unhappy here), to the stockpiling of draft choices, to his connections with to this area, to the great relationship with ownership to total control of all football matters, to his relationship with fellow coaches, assistants and players....can anyone come up with a solid reason for him to leave???

fgssand said:

"... we’re not building for just the 2007 season, we’re building for ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, so this is long-term. .... We take a long-range look. Bill and I want to be there for a while, we want to have success. It’s not just about building and making a quick run at it, we want to try to sustain success.”
- - - Scott Pioli, 3/31/07


Evidently, people choose not to believe the obvious.

From what SP said at the "dinner with the coach" event that I attended (where he stated how motivated he is to win and showed no signs of being unhappy here), to the stockpiling of draft choices, to his connections with to this area, to the great relationship with ownership to total control of all football matters, to his relationship with fellow coaches, assistants and players....can anyone come up with a solid reason for him to leave???

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Because it makes for a good story.

Duh!

You know what would be less of a distraction? If BB and Kraft had all their negotiations in public.

No - wait - that would be a terrible idea, and would be a huge distraction!

So making things public is a better idea than not making things public, why?

Belichick's contract uncertainty from year to year is very similar to Tom Brady being listed as "probable" from week to week. This effectively hides any week in which Brady actually IS probable and removes the possible distraction that week. Remember the Brady "tired arm" theory a few years ago? It was effectively crushed by the Probable thing every week. In the case of Belichick, any year in which there really is some uncertainty just blends in to all the other years of "we can neither confirm, nor deny..."

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:agree: This is called strategic ambiguity.

No more Parcells-style dramas. The issue with Parcells was not his leaving, it was his leaving becoming public, including timing and details.

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Belichick also has a rule that everyone who flies to the Super Bowl with the team has to fly back with the team. It was also implemented to prevent another Parcells-like disaster. Belichick learned a great deal from watching the Tuna's mistakes.

Thanks for the great replies. I did not mean to infer that it would matter if the fans were the ones distracted (who cares), I was talking the players. Many Pats players admitted that the Parcells debacle back in '96 was a distraction but you guys made same valid distinctions between the two situations.

The topic was about the philosophy of not commenting on BB's contract status, not the rumors surrounding it. Most of you have made excellent points on why the silence regarding his contract status is a sound philosophy; I can't argue with your analysis.

I was a bit amused by the (few) others who were perturbed that I even brought the issue up. I don't see what was wrong with asking a simple question. Do these (few) think that this site should be restricted to pom pom waving topics only?

It wouldn't suprise me one bit if everyone within the organization (that uncludes players) knew exactly what was going on with Belichick's contract and they are just choosing to keep the public in the dark about it.

fgssand said:

Evidently people choose not to believe the obvious.

....can anyone come up with a solid reason for him to leave???

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Ye of little paranoia! The first rule of a good conspiracy theory is, any evidence against the theory is proof that "THEY'RE" really, really, good at fooling the sheeplike public.

Andre Ware...:singing: Is Unaware....:singing: Of My Underwear....:singing:


PFnV

Brick said:

I was a bit amused by the (few) others who were perturbed that I even brought the issue up. I don't see what was wrong with asking a simple question. Do these (few) think that this site should be restricted to pom pom waving topics only?

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I see that you are relatively new to the board. Welcome!

I think that any "perturbation" that you picked up was due to the fact that BB's contract status has been discussed over and over again out here and people were probably reflecting that fact, even tho you asked a fair question (and, a word to the wise: don't take too much personally on the board; people tend to say what they think and do so politely most of the time. "Pom Pom waving" is a good line, but you should be ready to get as good as you give.).

I look forward to your posts in the future.

I think that the only people distracted are the meatheads in in out of the media who keep speculating about it.

I go about my daily business and never think about it. I'm sure that all of the players and 95% of the fans do the same thing.

This isn't college ball where a coach's status is important to secure recruits and sustain the program. In the league, realistically everyone is year-to-year anyways, and contracts are made to be broken. If BB wanted to leave, contract or not, he would. I have little to no worry about this.

PATSNUTme said:

I think that the only people distracted are the meatheads in in out of the media who keep speculating about it.

I go about my daily business and never think about it. I'm sure that all of the players and 95% of the fans do the same thing.

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What? Uh sorry, I got distracted for a moment.