Patriots: Julian Edelman reveals Bill Belichick’s most memorable rule
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At the height of the New England Patriots dynasty, Bill Belichick had a famous rule. Super Bowl LI MVP Julian Edelman remembers Belichick’s most “memorable” rule.
“The most memorable rule I remember him saying is, you can’t have anything burning in your hotel rooms, you can’t have anything,” Edelman told Fox News Digital in August while promoting the sleeping pill Unisom.
“‘I don’t care if it’s incense, these scents, sage, if it burns you can’t smell it.'”
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Then-New England Patriots winger Julian Edelman (11) warms up before his game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 15, 2019. (David Kohl/USA TODAY Sports)
Just as Belichick was meticulous about what players breathed, he was also meticulous about what they chewed.
“We tailor everything we do to each individual, so we train 185-pound players, we train 350-pound players,” Belichick said in 2017. According to NFL.com.
According to Edelman, this is reflected in a high-tech yet modest approach to the food discipline.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks to Julian Edelman #11 during halftime against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I had a nutritionist who was basically part of the team, Ted Harper, and they were communicating with my chef and seeing my practices through our GPS units of how much I was carrying that day through my data and tailoring it to my blood type,” Edelman said, adding that the science was so precise that he had to cut out the mustard and almonds.
Belichick’s strict and calculated approach to player management was a defining characteristic that led New England to six Super Bowls and nine appearances under the coach’s leadership from 2000-2023. During his reign, the Patriots won 266 regular season games, clinched 17 AFC East titles and 31 postseason wins.
Despite all this, Belichick reportedly missed his chance to be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick smiles as he walks off the field during NFL football training camp Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
First on ESPN He reported that Belichick will not enter the Hall of Fame this time. Citing sources, the report said Belichick was “surprised” and “disappointed” by the decision and wondered what more he needed to do as a head coach to immediately make the team.
“Politics kept him out. He doesn’t believe this is a reflection on his accomplishments,” another source told ESPN.
The Patriots return to the Super Bowl for the first time since Belichick left the team under his protégé Mike Vrabel after the 2023 season.
They will face the Seahawks in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, where Edelman helped New England earn its first of three Super Bowl victories in the 2010s.
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