49ers and Patriots: Coaches share mutual respect and a history with Jimmy Garoppolo
The 49ers and Patriots don’t have a whole lot in common when it comes to the way the two football teams operate, their fan bases or even their climates.
“We’d be here for a while if I told you all the differences,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said this week.
Garoppolo, of course, is a protagonist in New England’s longstanding melodrama, even while he plays his home games more than 3,000 miles away. The prodigal son once destined to replace Tom Brady is now with San Francisco, and Sunday is heading back to play against the team that drafted him — that might secretly wish he was still there.
The debate as to whether Garoppolo was pushed out per Tom Brady’s request remains. Though no matter how it’s sliced, it’s hard to argue over the Patriots going to two Super Bowls since Garoppolo was shipped to the Bay Area for a second-round draft pick midway through the 2017 season.
But with all the differences between the 49ers and Bill Belichick’s team, once constant remains: a high level of respect between the two franchises, which might be a reason why Garoppolo was sent to the 49ers in the first place, while Belichick reportedly turned down a better offer from the Cleveland Browns.
The reasoning?
That depends on whom you ask. Some would say Belichick wanted Garoppolo as far away from the Patriots as possible, both literally and figuratively. By sending Garoppolo to the 49ers of the NFC, Belichick would never have to play him in the AFC playoffs. And geographically, only a few of teams are further from Foxborough than San Francisco.
Others say Belichick wanted to send Garoppolo to a head coach that could help him flourish and maximize his potential. Belichick and Kyle Shanahan seem to be cut from the same cloth when it comes to coaching chops.
When asked about that on a conference call with Bay Area reporters this week, Belichick didn’t stray from his brand as a notoriously tight-lipped football guy hiding warm-time secrets.
“We have good relationships with a lot of teams. We’ve traded with practically everybody in the league. So, I don’t know,” Belichick said.
Then, surprisingly, he opened up just a little bit.
“Out of respect for Kyle and his dad,” Belichick continued, “I go all the way back with Mike and now him and his family there in the league for a long time, I have great respect for him. (49ers general manager John Lynch), I coached John. So, I feel like I have good relationships with everybody out there so, you know, a lot of teams in the league that we deal with too. So, I mean, I don’t know.”
Bond between Belichick and Shanahan
Shanahan and Belichick have formed a bond as coaches, starting with their encounter in the Super Bowl LI when Shanahan, serving as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator, played a role in his team infamously blowing a 28-3 third-quarter lead, just days before he would officially become the head coach of the 49ers.
Belichick reached out to Shanahan after the game and the two got to talking, sharing football thoughts. Their conversations extended to the 2017 NFL combine, when Shanahan and Lynch first broached the idea of trading for Garoppolo. And when they were rebuked, they even had the gall to ask about Brady on the heels of one of his great Super Bowl triumphs.
Then, just before the 2017 trade deadline, the topic was brought up again. This time by Belichick, who couldn’t afford to keep both Garoppolo, a looming free agent, and Brady. So he offered Garoppolo for a second-round pick and the deal was executed quickly.
For the 49ers, it came hours after an embarrassing loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who thumped San Francisco 33-10 in a game riddled with injuries. Shanahan’s team fell to 0-8.
Then Garoppolo arrived, offering the 49ers their best chance at a franchise quarterback since Colin Kaepernick was at the peak of his powers in 2013.
Garoppolo’s enture with 49ers
Garoppolo’s 49ers tenure since then has been a roller coaster.
He got off to an extremely fast start, going 5-0 in his first five games under center, before signing his five-year, $137.5 million contract the following February. Since then, he suffered an early season ACL tear, went to the Super Bowl in his first season as a starter, and now is the center of weekly conversations about his viability as San Francisco’s next signal caller to raise a Lombardi Trophy.
One thing Garoppolo was quick to do this week was credit Belichick and the Patriots for helping him become the player he is today. Coming out of Eastern Illinois as the No. 62 pick, he had NFL promise, but didn’t have NFL skills.
“We liked him, his personal characteristics, his intelligence, his toughness, his work ethic, his playing skill,” Belichick said. “He came from a situation where we thought that he would need some development.
Then, in another rare moment, Belichick opened up.
“He worked very hard, worked very hard to improve, particularly playing under center,” Belichick continued. “Dropping back under center, his mechanics and (turning) his back on the defense and things like that you don’t do when you’re in the shotgun all the time like basically he was in college. And obviously reading coverages and seeing things at this level are a lot different than (everybody) out of college.
“But he handled that well, he showed a lot of toughness and leadership and the opportunities that he got to play for us, and practice, when Tom wasn’t able to practice, sometimes during the week, he would step in there and did things at a very high level. Everybody here had a lot of confidence in him and it’s one of those situations where he just — you’re not able to keep all the players based on the system that is set up.”
Garoppolo was regularly lauded for his work on the practice field in New England, which was reportedly something that made Brady uncomfortable. And, eventually, the threat of Garoppolo was alleviated by the trade to San Francisco, which remains a hotly debated topic in New England.
For Garoppolo, however, things have worked out, whether half the 49ers fan base want him replaced or not. For that, he was quick to thank the coach that draft him, who reportedly keeps in contact with Garoppolo and checks in on his family.
“Coach being my first coach in the NFL, he was just very honest,” Garoppolo said this week. “Really never beat around the bush. He was very black and white with everything that he did and that’s kind of how I am. I really appreciated that from him. Just whether it was my first day there or when I got traded, he always shot me straight. I think just when you’re talking about just man to man, that’s all you can really ask for at the end of the day.”
Said Belichick: “I’m glad that it’s worked out for him in San Francisco. I hope it doesn’t work out on Sunday. But otherwise, happy that he had the opportunity to play for a great coach, and a great organization, and play on a great team. I think he deserves that. He certainly worked hard and earned it and (I’m) happy for him and his family.”
A role model for Shanahan
That aligns with what Shanahan appreciates about the six-time Super Bowl winner. The Patriots have done the impossible by maintaining a dynasty in a league built on parity. Whenever Belichick retires, part of his legacy will be winning six Super Bowls (and counting?) in an era designed for competitive balance. No one has turned over rosters, manipulated the salary cap and adapted to the game’s changes like Belichick.
Surely that’s something Shanahan would like to emulate.
“I just love his attention to detail. I love that he’s not a BS-er,” Shanahan said. “He is a very smart person who looks at football very hard in all three phases and tries to do what’s best from a common-sense standpoint and from his experience with teaching people.
“I love that he’s not going to sit there and try to make up some rah-rah story to get guys to go. He’s just going to keep it real, hold guys accountable and I think he has the experience and the preparation in what he’s done to be one of the most knowledgeable guys to ever coach in this game. His consistency has to do with him just being himself, which he seems like all the time. I think his players really respect him for it because he obviously knows what he’s talking about.”
Those are all traits Shanahan has tried to put in practice himself. In a way, Belichick is a mentor figure to Shanahan. Some believe Shanahan has a chance to become one of the best head coaches in his era, like Belichick.
Both coaches know this and respect each other in a way not all coaches do, which should make Sunday’s game all the more interesting.
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 8:30 AM.
