2017 Patriots PreSeason

MUST SEE: Bill Belichick Takes Subtle Dig At Jets During Press Conference

Aug 16, 2017 at 8:36 pm ET 1 min read 1.3k views

Photo: Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports

1 min read 2017 Patriots PreSeason

Every so often, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will break his “all business” character, whether its joking about “SnapFace” or what he does during summer vacation, even one of the most serious members of the National Football league has had his share of quotes that have caught many reporting on him off guard.

On Wednesday while speaking to the media at The Greenbrier, another such “did he just say that?” instance occurred when Belichick was discussing his lengthy relationship with Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.

https://twitter.com/JoeGiza/status/897834628861636608

Belichick is running through his history with Crennel: "We worked with the Patriots together, then another team, then back to the Patriots."

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 16, 2017

“Another team” of course is actually the New York Jets, where Belichick spent three seasons (1997-1999) as Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator under Bill Parcells, to go along with one day as Head Coach during his infamous surprise resignation in 1999. Crennel worked under Belichick as his defensive line coach during that timeframe.

The abrupt resignation and hiring with the Patriots triggered a tampering charge by the NFL that forced the team to send the Jets a first round pick in exchange for Belichick. Throughout the Belichick tenure in New England, the relationship with the Jets has continued to be rocky, reaching a new high after Eric Mangini kicked off Spygate following a report to the league office about the Patriots videotaping methods.

While the majority of Belichick press conferences provide little color or detail, this seemingly intentional removal of the Jets period of his NFL career during this presser is about the closest one will get to understanding how the coach really feels about how the way things ended there and how his resentment towards the franchise still remains with him after all these years.