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    • Bill Belichick makes ESPN MNF debut
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    Bill Belichick makes ESPN MNF debut

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

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    Bill Belichick’s season on our televisions has begun in earnest.

    The future Hall of Fame head coach made his debut on the “Manningcast,” ESPN’s alternate stream of “Monday Night Football,” which featured Peyton and Eli Manning during the New York Jets’ game against the San Francisco 49ers.

    And he was classic Belichick – the media version. He’s been informative and entertaining since he went down that media route after the New England Patriots effectively fired him in January after 24 seasons and six Super Bowls. Belichick was no different with the “Manningcast.”

    He definitely had great chemistry with the Manning brothers and is an ideal addition to the brotherly dynamic. His defensive genius fits well with the Mannings’ respective quarterback prospects.

    It would be naive to say that Belichick and the brothers hadn’t planned anything and hadn’t spoken to each other before Monday. However, the pre-production made the conversations feel unforced, and that has always been the hallmark of the Manningcast.

    Belichick will guest on all 11 episodes of the 2024 Manningcast. The appearances are part of a busy media schedule for “BB.” He is part of the weekly “Inside the NFL” crew and can be seen on Pat McAfee’s show on Mondays. Peyton and Belichick have a show called “The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick” that streams on Fridays and previews the upcoming “MNF” matchup.

    Here are the highlights from Belichick’s maiden voyage aboard the “Manningcast” Express:

    Eli and Belichick reach early peace agreement

    The stream didn’t waste any time welcoming Belichick to the show, as he joined just over two minutes into the game. Peyton showed off his hosting chops with his Belichick introduction, and the coach immediately found common ground with Eli, who beat his Patriots teams in two Super Bowls.

    “Eli, can we have a peace deal?” Belichick said.

    Eli assured Belichick that all of his jokes would be aimed at Peyton. But he didn’t stick to that.

    When Belichick mentioned that the post-Super Bowl party for the losing team is never a fun affair, Eli said, “I don’t know, Coach.”

    In the mind of Bill Belichick, the coach

    As the Jets marched down the field and scored the game’s first touchdown, Belichick noted the connection between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Garrett Wilson. His “Wilson” refrain sounded like a joyful version of “We’re on our way to Cincinnati.”

    Eli gave Belichick a spot on the panel for the “perfect prediction,” but the coach hedged his bets by saying either Breece Hall or Wilson would score for the Jets (Hall scored the goal, giving the Jets a 6-3 lead).

    Belichick quickly realized that Wilson didn’t know which route to run when Rodgers changed a third-down play. He came back to it a little later and said Wilson should consult with Rodgers on the sideline to clear up the misunderstanding instead of going it alone.

    Seeing Belichick’s confidence in front of the camera

    The Mannings made Belichick smile by showing a Lawrence Taylor highlight after a commercial break. They showed many highlights of Belichick-Peyton duels going back to when Peyton was with the Indianapolis Colts, and that will be a constant throughout the broadcasts if you had to guess.

    Belichick used a bit of jargon in his descriptions of the defensive line positions and was difficult to understand. It was obvious that the production team was feeding Eli questions to get Belichick in trouble, but again, the dialogue all seemed pretty natural.

    Belichick, always a pedant, placed great emphasis on ball security at the beginning of the season and pointed to games on the weekend.

    Belichick bowed out at halftime. It will be interesting to see if he can last nearly the entire first half of every game like he did in this game.

    “Yeah, it’s great,” Belichick said of the night with the Mannings.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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