In a rare occurrence, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sat down for an exclusive interview with CNBC Contributor Suzy Welch to discuss his career, family, leadership style, Super Bowl wins and his relationship with Tom Brady.
Some highlights of the interview include thoughts on the Patriots Super Bowl win. Belichick admits that he goes back and watches the game every now and then.
“It was funny. It was one of the those games where we didn’t have control of the score but I didn’t feel like we lost control of the game” Belichick said. “We could move the ball, we were able to stop them (Atlanta Falcons) on 3rd down, we were able to do things but the scoreboard was very much against us.
As long as there was still time, I felt like we had a chance.”
When asked what the comeback victory felt like, Belichick said it was “close to a miracle.”
The interview then shifted to a word association game where Belichick was given one word to elaborate on.
Football: “More sport than business. But it’s a business. But I respect the game for the game and the sport.”
Media: “It’s how a team connects with it’s fans.”
DeflateGate: “Ridiculous.”
Aaron Hernandez: “Tragedy. (Heartbreaking) Yes, that would be another word.”
Winning: “The goal. There’s no medals for trying, this isn’t like 8th grade where everybody gets a trophy. We’re in a professional sport and it’s competitive to win. That’s what we do.”
Belichick discussed his financial approach to the game, his financial discipline and his ability to see the value in under-valued players.
“None of us got into football to be a professional football player. None of us got into football to be a professional coach or to manage a cap, or to manage a team. All of us that into football got into football because of the game, because we love to go to practice, we loved to play the game when we were 8, 9, 10 years old.”
Belichick also spoke about the career and his relationship with quarterback Tom Brady.
“A really special to coach. Works very hard. He’s very smart, he’s trained hard, he’s worked hard on his throwing mechanics, he’s worked hard on his mental understanding of the game and process.
He’s earned everything that he’s achieved. It was always there, he’s not a great natural athlete. He’s a very smart, instinctive player.”
Belichick agreed that Brady may go down as the Greatest of All-time.
“It’s not all about talent. It’s about dependability, consistency and being able to improve. If work hard and you understand and you’re coachable and you understand what you need to do, you can improve” Belichick explained.
You can watch the full interview at this link.
Excerpts of the exclusive interview will air on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET) on Thursday, April 13th. CNBC Contributor Suzy Welch will appear throughout CNBC’s Business Day programming today to discuss her interview with Belichick. In addition, articles written by Welch about the interview are available on CNBC’s Make It, a site focused on all things money and success for the next generation of leaders, zeroing in on the core topics of entrepreneurs, leadership, careers and personal finance.