Peyton Manning Reveals Which NFL Owner Patriots Coach Bill Belichick 'Hated'
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has made a career out of vengeance-seeking, his perceived pettiness more than offset by the championship hardware it has brought him.
As Peyton Manning explained on Monday night, even the Pro Bowl apparently wasn't exempt from serving as a battleground for Belichick to make a point.
New England's Monday night victory over the Arizona Cardinals was subject to the ManningCast, an alternative ESPN-branded broadcast experience featuring Manning and his fellow former quarterback ... and Patriots tormenter ... brother Eli offering their own thoughts on the game, complete with celebrity interviews. When the aerial pair brought in sportswriter and noted Patriots fan Bill Simmons to the broadcast, the elder Manning shared a story about the lengths Belichick would go to settle a score.
It was an act that targeted polarizing NFL face Art Modell, best known for his ownership of the Cleveland Browns before a complicated process led him to transform the team into the modern Baltimore Ravens. Belichick, a former Modell employee in Cleveland, enlisted Baltimore linebacker Peter Boulware for his unwitting assistance in getting back at the Ravens' man in charge.
"I played for Belichick one time in a Pro Bowl and they were telling stories about the times that he was the head coach of the Pro Bowl," Manning recalled. "One time, he picked Peter Boulware because he knew Art Modell would have to pay Boulware a $1 million bonus if Boulware made the Pro Bowl. Belichick hated Modell."
Based on the facts Manning provided, the incident had to have occurred during the 1999 edition of the NFL all-star game, the only Pro Bowl that Belichick and Boulware shared. At the time, Belichick was named the head coach of the AFC squad, a bittersweet honor bestowed to the boss of the conference's runner-up. Belichick, then a defensive coordinator, was representing the New York Jets after Bill Parcells bowed out of the game due to health reasons. New York had fallen to eventual Super Bowl champion Denver weeks prior.
Behind MVP performances from Belichick proteges from the present (Keyshawn Johnson) and future (Ty Law), the AFC rolled to a 23-10 victory over the NFC. It was the first of three Pro Bowl appearances for Belichick, who also led in the AFC in 2007 and 2011.
While NBC Sports' Mike Florio claims that Boulware's official Baltimore contract did not feature any Pro Bowl-based bonuses, Belichick's grudge with the late Modell is understandable: Belichick was the head coach for the final five seasons of the Browns' original incarnation, amassing a 36-44 record. Belichick appeared to be part of the Baltimore transition, announced midway through the 1995-96 season, but he was instead fired in February 1996 in favor of Ted Marchibroda.
Belichick's firing set up a reunion tour with Parcells, one that went through both New England and New York to close out the prior century. It eventually led to his promotion to the top headset by the Patriots in 2000, where he has remained ever since to the tune of six Super Bowl rings (adding to the two he won with Parcells in early years with the New York Giants), and his ascension to second place on the NFL's all-time coaching wins list.
Unlike Belichick, the Browns have never fully recovered from the Modell-forced departure. Cleveland, having retained the Browns' trademarks and history as part of the deal for Modell's move, returned to the league as an expansion team in 1999 but has frequently failed to attain the NFL's lofty standards of excellence. Baltimore has since won two Super Bowls, the first featuring Boulware's participation.
Belichick earned another laugh on Monday night, as the Patriots (7-6) kept their playoff hopes alive with a 27-13 victory over the Cardinals. The push to the postseason resumes on Sunday when the Patriots battle the Las Vegas Raiders (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
New England and beyond! Get your Patriots game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
