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Bill Belichick’s time with the Patriots may have come to a disappointing end, but he’s still one of the most legendary coaches in NFL history thanks in no small part to an impressive attention to detail highlighted by a pretty wild anecdote that was recently shared by Devin McCourty.
As things currently stand, the 333 wins Bill Belichick has secured as a head coach in the NFL are second only to the 347 Don Shula managed to rack up during his storied career, and it seems like there’s a still chance the 72-year-old skipper will be able to surpass that total if he mounts a comeback after parting ways with the New England Patriots after 24 seasons.
There aren’t many people who can rival Belichick when it comes to the sheer amount of football knowledge he’s managed to retain over the decades, and the three-time NFL Coach of the Year winner drew from his encyclopedic understanding of the sport to win six Super Bowls during his time in Foxborough.
Plenty of guys who were coached by Belichick have relayed stories concerning moments where they realized he’s simply built different, and retired cornerback Devin McCourty added another entry to the canon during a recent conversation with Kevin Clark on the This Is Football podcast.
Unbelievable Belichick story from @devinmccourty on This Is Football. Belichick predicted the exact WIND PATTERN for a Jets game, leading to a pick on a deep ball. Turns out he did it all the time.
This amazing extended interview is part of TV debut of This Football, 2:30 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/oVHu6OBXis
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) September 17, 2024
McCourty said the Patriots assembled for a walk-through ahead of a Monday Night Football showdown with the Jets toward the start of his career when Belichick gathered the members of his secondary to share a piece of advice, saying:
“When we’re running down this sideline, the way the wind pattern is in our stadium going towards the open end, the wind whirls like this. So the ball is going to look like it’s going further than it is.
But it’s gonna hit that wind and it’s just gonna drop. So when you are running on this side, make sure you turn around and get your head back.”
He acknowledged he was skeptical Belichick’s supposed knowledge of wind patterns would actually end up being a factor, but officially found himself “drinking the Kool-Aid” when a gust knocked down a pass that was thrown to Braylon Edwards to help him snag an interception.
It would appear the play in question transpired when the Patriots hosted the Jets on December 6, 2010, and it does appear the wind had just enough of an impact on the pass Mark Sanchez tossed to Edwards to aid in the pick McCourty snagged during New England’s 45-3 win.