Bill Belichick had a unique and oftentimes funny way of throwing his challenge flag during his days as head coach of the New England Patriots, opting to pull it out of his sock instead of his pocket, as most other coaches do.
Longtime friend and associate Ernie Adams recently gave his insight on why Belichick did that.
In an appearance on Julian Edelman’s “Games With Names” podcast, Adams explained the reasoning behind the challenge flag in the sock, pointing out a game the Patriots played against the St. Louis Rams in 2016 when opposing coach Jeff Fisher reached for his challenge flag and couldn’t find it in his big jacket.
“The parka, the pockets and all that,” Adams said. “He can’t find the flag.”
That inspired Belichick to always keep his flag easily accessible in his sock.
Ernie Adams explains the reasoning behind Bill Belichick keeping his challenge flag in his sock pic.twitter.com/aK3OOZEadK
— Games with Names (@gameswithnames) July 31, 2024
Belichick was always known for his quirks, and angrily spiking the challenge flag after ripping it out of his sock encapsulated so many things about his personality.
It will be strange going through an entire NFL season without the coaching legend on the sidelines for the first time in decades, but fans will have access to Belichick in a new way this season when he makes weekly appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” while also hosting his new show “Coach” for Underdog Fantasy.
There have been plenty of murmurs that Belichick will return to the sidelines somewhere next season after he failed to land one of the available head coaching gigs this offseason, and we can’t wait to see more flags flying out of his sock whenever he decides to return.
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