Of Two Minds

Not six weeks after the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl last season, Coach Bill Belichick was on a shopping trip in South Florida.

Specifically, he was shopping for a punter.

At the same time, Josh Miller, a free-agent punter who had been released after nine seasons with Pittsburgh, was weighing his options. Several teams were interested, but after all those years of playing in frigid conditions, Miller was determined to play in either a warm-weather city or a domed stadium. Still, he didn’t turn down a dinner invitation from Belichick, figuring at the very least he could pick the brain of a coach who had won two Super Bowls in three years.

“The Patriots called and I remember watching their game last year in the snow, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going there,’ ” Miller said. “That wasn’t an option.”

Belichick must have been a good salesman, right? After all, Miller is the Patriots’ punter.

“He had me at hello,” confessed Miller, who instantly accepted when he got an offer, somehow forgetting all about his vow to play in more pleasant conditions.

“It was that fast,” Miller said. “We hadn’t had appetizers. We didn’t even have a drink yet. I called my wife and said, ‘We’re going to be in Boston, sweetheart.’ She was like, ‘What do you mean we’re going to be in Boston? What happened to a dome? What happened to good weather?’ I was like, ‘

Hey, I’ve got a few years left, I want to win a Super Bowl, and the Patriots have everything in line. They know what they’re doing.’ ”

Who could have guessed Belichick would be such a good salesman? He mumbles. He grumbles. Some people wonder whether he has ever smiled. Yet he has helped create the NFL’s version of paradise, a place where players truly embrace a team concept, a place where starters gladly volunteer to play on special teams, a franchise that is to this decade what the San Francisco 49ers were to the 1980s and early ‘90s.

In short, the team sells itself.

Belichick has played a significant role in that.

“He is somewhat of a mad scientist,” safety Rodney Harrison said. “Some people say he is not the most personable person around, but he takes care of business. I have no problems with him. He gets along with guys. He tells you what he expects out of you, and all you can do is respect a guy like that. He tells you the truth. If you are screwing up, he’ll tell you. If you are doing a great job, he’ll tell you. He’s definitely the smartest coach I’ve been around, and I think the key that separates him from a lot of coaches is preparation. There is not one detail that he overlooks.”

More important, Belichick -- along with Patriot owner Robert Kraft -- has been able to keep a top-notch core of players, assistant coaches and executives. Instrumental in the team’s success have been offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who after the Super Bowl will turn his attention to coaching Notre Dame, and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, the leading candidate for Cleveland’s coaching job. Scott Pioli, arguably the best personnel director in football, provides Belichick with the talent he needs to run his system.

But the accomplishments of Belichick are substantial. If his team beats Philadelphia on Sunday, he’ll have more postseason victories than the coach whose name is on the coveted trophy. Both Belichick and Green Bay legend Vince Lombardi are 9-1 in postseason games.

“It’s flattering, but that’s not why I’m doing it, and that’s not what I am trying to do,” Belichick said when asked about being compared with Lombardi. “I’m just trying to get this team prepared to play our very best game of the year against the Eagles. ... That’s where our focus is. I can’t reflect back to other points in time and really don’t think now is the time to do it anyway. There is just too much on my plate.”

Maybe it’s because Belichick is such a perfectionist, such a stickler for details, that his teams seem to get sharper during the postseason. In Super Bowls and championship games under Belichick, New England is plus-14 in turnover ratio with 17 takeaways and three giveaways. New England has lost only two fumbles in eight playoff games since 2001, none in the last three postseason games.

Even though the Patriots are staying at a golf resort this week, players weren’t allowed to bring their clubs. And they have embraced their coach’s all-business approach.

“I try to hole up in my room as best as I can around here, and not do a whole lot other than focus on the task at hand,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “The first year you come down [to the Super Bowl] and we were in New Orleans, it was very hectic. It was a week to prepare, and sometimes you did get caught up in the fact that there were other things going on. Not that you were out there partying or anything, but you were dealing with things you probably didn’t need to deal with. Whereas I think for us now, and I think for many of the guys that have been here before, you put it on other people and let everyone [else] have the fun this week.

“For us, we realize our fun comes after this game.”

Yes, the Patriots can relax next week.

As for Belichick, he’ll probably go shopping again.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

On the Record

The careers of head coaches Bill Belichick and Andy Reid:

BILL BELICHICK

*--* YEAR TEAM W-L Playoffs 2004 Patriots 14-2 2-0 2003 Patriots 14-2 3-0 2002 Patriots 9-7 DNP 2001 Patriots 11-5 3-0 2000 Patriots 5-11 DNP 1995 Browns 5-11 DNP 1994 Browns 11-5 1-1 1993 Browns 7-9 DNP 1992 Browns 7-9 DNP 1991 Browns 6-10 DNP TOTAL 10 years 89-71 9-1

*--*

ANDY REID

*--* YEAR TEAM W-L Playoffs 2004 Eagles 13-3 2-0 2003 Eagles 12-4 1-1 2002 Eagles 12-4 1-1 2001 Eagles 11-5 2-1 2000 Eagles 11-5 1-1 1999 Eagles 5-11 DNP TOTAL 6 years 64-32 7-4

*--*

Source: Associated Press