For years, arguably decades, the ethos of Bill Belichick guiding the New England Patriots has been impenetrable: We do what’s best for the team.
Along with do your job, he has embraced this principle through nearly every decision that has come to define the franchise. He espouses it in coaching staff meetings. Reiterates it in corporate speaking engagements. Repeats it so often in news conferences that clips of him saying some version of the ideology can be found in nearly every year of his Patriots reign.
If anyone were to question his dedication to it, they would need only look inside the roll call of Belichick’s rosters through history — a march of attrition showcasing his priority of cold calculus over sentimentality or blind loyalty.