FOXBORO — Last month, on the primary day the Patriots practiced with their 53-man roster for the common season, Bill Belichick spent everything of warmups and preliminary drills chatting.
He spoke with then Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla, who has since been promoted to interim head coach following Ime Udoka’s 1-year suspension for violating the group’s code of conduct. Mazzulla, 34, joined Boston’s workers in 2019, following two years as the pinnacle coach at Fairmont State in Fairmont, W. Va., and one season working with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ G League affiliate. Mazzulla, a Rhode Island native, performed school ball at West Virginia and has seemingly made a positive impression on Belichick since he joined the teaching ranks.
Coach Bill Belichick spending your complete starting of #Patriots apply right this moment speaking with Johnston native and @Celtics assistant coach Joe Mazzulla.@NBC10 @HendrickenHawks pic.twitter.com/VaoNsYkUuq
— Joe Kayata (@NBC10_Joe) August 31, 2022
“Yeah, had a great opportunity to visit. (I’ve) always had a great relationship with all those guys for multiple years — Brad (Stevens), then as Brad stepped down, you know, other people that have come in there,” Belichick stated Friday of the go to. “So very interesting just talking about pro athletes, pro sports, teaching, learning and so forth. It was a good day.”
Belichick has been noticed at dozens of Celtics video games over time and attended a number of playoff video games in the course of the C’s run to the NBA Finals final spring. He and Stevens have constructed a friendship relationship again to Stevens’ hiring as head coach in 2013. Last May, Stevens spoke to their bond throughout an radio look on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“I’ve gotten a chance to know him pretty well over the years, and he’s been nice enough to let me come down to several practices and some OTAs. And we’ve spent some time at our games as well back when I was coaching, he would pop his head in before the game and then a couple games this year, he’s come up and spent a quarter with us. It’s really nice of him to do that,” stated Stevens, now the president of basketball operations.
He later added: “I mean, (Belichick)’s a really good guy. He’s really — I don’t know how well you guys know him or whatever, but just very funny. Obviously, has great insights. He’s a person that you could sit and listen to talk about building a cohesive group and everybody pulling in one direction and doing all of the things that lead to winning every day all day. But he’s always been really good to me.”
The Celtics will open their coaching camp underneath Mazzulla on Tuesday. The Patriots will kick off their house opener Sunday at 1 p.m. towards the Ravens.
Source: www.bostonherald.com