ESPN reporter tells awesome story about secret meetings with Bill Belichick back in 90s

Bill Belichick's final coordinator gig in the NFL before becoming the head coach of the New England Patriots was in 1997 when he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets. He was also the assistant head coach alongside head coach Bill Parcells during his three years with the team.

During last week's pregame leading up the the Patriots' Week 3 game against the New York Jets, ESPN reporter Rich Cimini told a story about the relationship that he and Belichick had back in the late 90s when Cimini was on the Jets beat and Belichick was coaching in New York, which involved secret meetings between the two.

"Every Sunday in the (New York) Daily News we used to print a diagram of the opponent's favorite play, and (Bill Belichick) agreed to be the guy to supply me with that play," Cimini said on the SNY pregame show. "So we had a system set up; on Wednesday night's I would phone his office, I would ring it once and then hang up and then he knew to come down to the press room which was empty except for me. He would come down, he would have his No. 2 pencil behind his ear, and he had a 3-by-5 file card and he used to diagram the play for me, explain it to me, give it to me and I'd fax it to my office."

"Sometimes he would stay around and we would chit-chat for a little bit, and (Bill) Parcells did not allow that, and we did it, because it was forbidden, on the sly. So Belichick did all this, to wasn't supposed to be happening, I'd send it in and it would look great in Sunday's paper, and people would say, 'Where did you get it?' and I said I got it from Belichick, arguably the smartest coach ever, was giving me plays every Sunday."

For someone that seems so weary of the media in 2019, it's very cool to hear stories about Belichick at one point in time opening up to certain members of the media, even if it was against team protocol. It shows a bit of personality from the former Jets DC, and reminds us all that Belichick does have a heart underneath that cold stare he dishes out every week during press conferences and/or interviews.

The lone question to be asked here - how does Parcells feel about this?