The Resurrection of Bill Belichick

Some people take up bridge when they retire. Then again, Bill Belichick was never the retiring type. After he left his job as head coach of the New England Patriots, in January, a position that he had held for twenty-four seasons, he only briefly receded from view. Despite his laconic and sullen public image—Belichick is almost as famous for stonewalling reporters as he is for his defensive schemes—he was suddenly everywhere, talking, even smiling, sort of. He cracked jokes with his former nemeses Eli and Peyton Manning, on ESPN’s “Manningcast.” He grimaced through Pat McAfee’s genuflections toward him on McAfee’s über-popular podcast. He became a co-host of “Inside the NFL,” on the CW network. He had a weekly show with the company Underdog Fantasy. He even replaced Tom Brady on Jim Gray’s SiriusXM show, “Let’s Go,” when Brady went to Fox earlier this year.