Bill Belichick Quoting ‘The Art Of War’ To Define His Coaching Philosophy Is A Fascinating Glimpse Into The Mind Of A Genius

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Trying to get into Bill Belichick’s head is like trying to escape Rikers Island with a spork. The Patriots head coach would rather do away with his first born than cough up any insight into his game-planning or general football wizardry.

But aspects of Belichick’s leadership style has been leaked throughout the years, with adoring players claiming the coach orchestrates team bonding activities that include training with Navy SEALs and hosting trivia nights where there is no social media allowed.

Belichick was recently named one of 10 head coaches who will be included on the NFL’s All-Time Team and will appear as an analyst on NFL Network’s “NFL 100’’ show, a six-episode series that counts down the top 100 players and top 10 coaches in NFL history.

In the first episode, Rich Eisen asked the Patriots coach about his coaching philosophy and arguably the best coach of all-time immediately referred to Sun Tzu’s ancient Chinese military treatise titled “The Art of War.”

“You can go all the way back to a few hundred years B.C., Sun Tzu, ‘The Art of War.’ Attack weaknesses, utilize strengths and figure out what the strengths are on your team. There are some things you have to protect.  Find the weaknesses of your opponent and attack. You can’t win a war by digging a hole. You gotta attack. You have to figure out where you want to attack, how you want to attack and that changes week to week and game to game.”

This isn’t the first time Belichick has lauded Sun Tzu’s teachings. He revealed in 2017 that he relies on one key quote that he keeps posted where players can see it.

“The only sign we have in the locker room is from ‘The Art of War.’ ‘Every battle is won before it is fought.'”

He claims that The Art of War is critical to guiding his preparation because it readies him for all possible scenarios.

You [have to] know what the opponents can do, what their strengths and weaknesses are … [and] what to do in every situation.”

Belichick’s 270 victories as a head coach trail only Don Shula and George Halas and with Sunday’s win over the Cowboys, Belichick has led the Patriots to 17 straight seasons of 10 wins or more. Absolutely absurd.