![]() And his tireless pursuit of excellence is really inspiring in a lot of ways. You talk about commitment to a craft, and avoiding complacency, I think he embodies that better than anyone I've been around as a professional. So I definitely have learned a lot from just watching him. Because there are not very many people that are able to do it for the amount of time that he's done. ![]() "I'm sure if you ask him, he'd tell you he's grateful for that. And to just have the opportunity," Slater said. "What a blessing for him, at age 70, to be able to be healthy enough to do it, physically, mentally and emotionally. That's perhaps helped shape his feeling on what his coach's outlook may be. He wants to continue to go out and coach good football teams - smart, tough, physical football teams."Īpproaching his own 37th birthday this coming November, Slater has long outlasted most NFL careers already. So I think it's his love for the game that compels him. And I think when you love something, you stay motivated to pursue it, to pour into it, to continue to evolve, to continue to approach it with a great sense of gratitude and urgency. He loves everything that goes into this game, and he has a great deal of respect for it. And what I see in him is just a passion to pursue excellence in an area that he loves, without question. "I certainly don't want to attempt to put myself in his headspace, but I've been around Coach, I've had the great fortune of being around Coach for a long time now. Slater, who was drafted by Belichick out of UCLA all the way back in 2008, says he can still see the passion in his head coach. And it's our job to kind of raise our standards and what we do out of whatever his expectation or standards are." You know, he always has the same energy, always has the same expectations for the team and for individuals. "And when you don't feel like that and you're still enjoying it, it's kind of like why not? Why not continue to do it? So I'm excited, man. You still feel healthy, you still feel like you can do it, and I think that's when it gets tough, when it starts to be a struggle to kind of do what your normal tasks are, to fulfill that role at a job," McCourty said. ![]() "I know just speaking for me, it's just the enjoyment. Perhaps just like Belichick with coaching, McCourty spoke from the player's perspective about how he has always intended to play as long as he's physically able to do so. And obviously I can't speak for him, but I'm sure the competition and being able to be in here and probably working with his sons and everything all play a role in still coaching," said McCourty. He then served as a defensive assistant and assistant head coach for Parcells with the Patriots (1996) and the New York Jets (199799). You even see guys when they stop playing or stop coaching, they find other things to be competitive in. "I think anybody, when you have to do anything with sports, it's the competitive nature. Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater, two of the longest-tenured members of the team, speculated about why they'll be playing under the same head coach for their 15th (Slater) and 13th (McCourty) seasons in New England. Whatever the case may be, Belichick is back for another year in Foxboro. ![]()
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