WATCH: Bill Belichick Impression Earns Big Laughs at New England Patriots Hall of Fame Induction
If this is truly the end of Bill Belichick's New England Patriots career, perhaps stand-up comedy is part of his next steps.
Belichick put aside chasing Don Shula for a few funny minutes and instead went after the great impressionists at the Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony for team legend Dante Scarnecchia, a Foxborough staple for over three decades. The head coach channeled his inner Darrell Hammond when introducing Scarnecchia, recalling an incident where the former offensive line coach had to correct a training camp error committed by former offensive lineman James Williams, who was brought into training camp during the summer of 2004.
Rarely known to smile in even the best of times, Belichick offered himself and the Foxborough faithful gathered a moment of levity when imitating the 5-8 Scarnecchia disciplining Williams, who was referred to as "Big Cat" throughout his 12-year career with the Chicago Bears.
Belichick broke out into a rare smile during the Patriots' latest Hall of Fame induction over the weekend
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"It's about, I don't know, the fourth, fifth, sixth day of training camp, frustration's kind of coming on," Belichick recalled (h/t Ian Steele of WLNE-TV). "I can still see Scar yelling at Big Cat, but he's looking straight up at him like this (leans back and points skyward)."
"He's like 'Big Cat, you don't use our techniques, that's why you're not doing this right, you're not having any success, because you're doing it your way, and your way's not working! So you better start doing it our way, or you're never going to be any good!'"
Williams, alas, didn't appear to heed Scarnecchia's advice, as the veteran did not make the Patriots' final roster, one that yielded the third of five Super Bowl rings for the longtime blocking boss.
An apparent failure with Williams shouldn't sully Scarnecchia's ultimate impact in New England: save for a brief two-season foray with Indianapolis, he was a Foxborough fixture from 1982 through 2019, holding a variety of roles. From 1999 onward, he was in charge of the line and later became one of Belichick's closest coaching confidants as the team's assistant head coach (2000-13).
The modern Patriots (1-5) could perhaps use some classic Scarnecchia wisdom. They'll look to start recovering from their worst start since 1995 on Sunday when they face the Buffalo Bills at home (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
