In most cases, Bill Belichick isn't interested in discussing the past.
But amid a barrage of questions about the state of the New England Patriots at the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Belichick couldn't help but point to the scoreboard.
When asked what he would say to fans as a reason to be optimistic about the Patriots' future, Belichick offered a succinct reply:
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"The last 25 years."
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That's a reference to the six Super Bowl titles, nine AFC championships and 17 division titles the Patriots have won since Belichick took over as head coach in 2000. And former Patriots safety Devin McCourty was among those who loved Belichick's mic drop of an answer.
Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language.
Belichick arguably is the greatest head coach in NFL history, so he deserves the right to flex every once in a while. Despite not winning a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII, New England still is the most successful franchise of the 21st century by a large margin, so Belichick is probably thinking he's entitled to a couple down seasons, just as any team would endure when they lose a quarterback of Tom Brady's stature.
Then again, the Patriots' "rebuild" is going a bit slower than expected -- in part due to Belichick, whose decision to install Matt Patricia as the team's offensive play-caller in 2022 backfired spectacularly. Belichick and his front office also made several poor investments in 2021 free agency -- most notably in Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor, who both left the team this offseason -- that set New England back in the short- and long-term.
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So, it's understandable why fans are getting antsy after three seasons of mediocrity in the post-Brady era. And the further Belichick gets from his most recent success (the 2018 season), the less he'll be able to point to the scoreboard.