On the rare occasions Bill Belichick gets free time, he comes to Annapolis to visit his mother. Jeannette Belichick, 95, lives in an assisted living facility in the city.
While in town, Belichick often visits his father’s grave in the Naval Academy cemetery. That is often followed by a stop at Ricketts Hall to catch up with Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo, with whom Belichick has become close friends.
The New England Patriots had a bye the first weekend in November so it was no surprise their legendary head coach showed up in Annapolis. Belichick stopped by the Navy football offices for a visit and was asked by Coach Niumatalolo to address the Midshipmen.
Belichick’s motivational speech to the the Navy football team was captured by the film crew from Showtime, which is chronicling Navy football for the 2017 installment of its “A Season With” series. Belichick spoke to the players in Bellino Auditorium the week after Navy’s disappointing loss to Temple and footage of the moment was included in the latest episode of “A Season With Navy Football.”
“Confidence is really today’s confidence. It’s not last week, it’s not next month. It’s what you have today,” Belichick told the Midshipmen. “Don’t worry about what happened in the past, don’t worry about the Army game. There’s nothing you can do about any of that stuff. The only thing you can control is what you do today in preparation for the upcoming game.”
Niumatalolo was asked after practice on Wednesday what it was like to have the five-time Super Bowl champion coach speak to the Navy football team.
“His wisdom is invaluable. To be able to listen to the greatest football coach of all-time… I mean you’re all ears,” Niumatalolo said.
Belichick was asked about the occasion during his weekly press conference this week. Speaking to reporters at Gillette Stadium, Belichick noted that Navy snapped a three-game losing streak by beating SMU this past Saturday.
“Ken’s asked me to do it a couple times in different situations, but to speak to the actual team… it’s really an honor. I have so much respect for Ken and the Navy team and the Navy program and the institution that just to be able to stand up in front of that group is a pretty special feeling,” Belichick said. “Not that I had anything to do with it, but I’m just glad that that worked out for them, too.”
In June, 2016, Belichick invited the entire Navy coaching staff to spend a day at the Gillette Stadium facility in Foxboro during a veteran’s mini camp for the Patriots. New England is famously the most secretive organization in the NFL, but the curtain was lifted for Niumatalolo and his assistants.
“We were able to visit the Patriots’ practice facility. We had unparalleled access to everything and Coach Belichick and his staff were unbelievable,” said Niumatalolo, who has implemented New England schemes and philosophies into his program.
Most notably, Navy has adopted the “Do Your Job” slogan that Belichick has long espoused for holding players accountable.
Belichick grew up in Annapolis and spent his childhood wandering around the Naval Academy campus. His father, Steve Belichick, was an assistant coach for Navy football for 33 years and also served as an associated professor in the physical education department.
Steve Belichick was renowned for his scouting acumen, turning the practice into an exact science. In 1962, the elder Belichick authored the book “Football Scouting Methods.”
Steve Belichick, who died in November, 2005 at the age of 86, was also a prolific collector of all books related in any way to the game of football. Bill Belichick donated that extensive collection to the Naval Academy and the Steve Belichick Library is located in the lobby of the football offices on the third floor of Ricketts Hall.
Latest College Football
“Coach Belichick has always been very gracious. He loves the Naval Academy, loves Annapolis. Everything started here as far as learning football from his father,” Niumatalolo said this week. “It’s kind of cool to see a guy who has reached the pinnacle and hasn’t forgotten where he came from and gives back.”
