Patriots Legends Reveals Hilarious Details of His First Meeting with Bill Belichick: “Threw Me Straight in the Fire”

Being the greatest coach of all time comes with its fair share of compromises. When it came to the former New England Patriots coach, he chose to compromise on politeness on the field. As such, it was because of the sheer determination and hard work that Bill Belichick was able to scale the Pats higher than any other team in the NFL and did it without the subtleties on the sidelines.

James White, the former running back for the New England Patriots, was with the team for over 8 seasons and won 3 Super Bowl rings under Belichick. But while narrating his first time meeting the coach, it didn’t sound very pleasant and strictly about football, as White recalled in a recent interview.

James White narrates his experience of meeting Belichick

In one of the clips from the Money Down podcast, James White joined the show to reminisce about some of his best memories from his 8-year career. Later, he recalled his first time meeting Bill Belichick, who didn’t exactly embrace him with a smile on the field. White hadn’t had his physical done, and he wasn’t supposed to be playing or practicing, yet, Belichick didn’t seem to care too much about it and let White have it.

White narrated the experience and said, “So I’m sitting there watching everything, ‘cause technically I’m not allowed to do nothing because I ain’t do no physical… Bill walks over to where the running backs (are) at. He lookin’ at me, he lookin’ at the drills, he look at me (and says), ‘There’s nothing wrong with you get your ass in there!’ I ain’t do no physical or nothing’, but hey, boss man say go, I’m going in there. That was like one of my first interactions with him. But yeah, he threw me straight in that fire. I ain’t have no helmet, no nothin’.”

Thus, even with the harshness of Belichick, White has had nothing but the best of compliments for his former coach who led the team to 6 Super Bowl wins. With all that said, now that Jerod Mayo has taken over the reins of the Pats, this is what White’s opinion of the new HC is.

James White speaks up on Jerod Mayo as the newest HC

Jerod Mayo and James White used to be former teammates back at the New England Patriots. Mayo was also with the team for over 8 seasons but only spent 2 of those playing alongside White during the years of 2014 and 2015. As such, White had a strong recommendation for Mayo as he dons the cap of the next HC now.

On one episode from the NBCS Chicago show, White gave his opinion on Mayo and said, “They’re in a rebuild right now. Jerod Mayo, the head coach, I believe in him. I played with him, he’s a vocal guy, he knows people. He exudes that energy. He’s gonna speak to those players and they’re gonna believe. They’re talking about how different it is within that building, which I can only imagine. Him and Bill Belichick have different playing styles. I think he’s the right guy for the job.”

Even White seems to think that Mayo could see a lot of success with the Patriots, but the signs of glory are not going to be immediate and it’s going to take time. Along with that, the crown will weigh heavily on Mayo since the fans expect him to build a legacy that Belichick once did.