A Review Of "Belichick & Saban: The Art Of Coaching"

I don't think it is possible for me to get enough Belichick. The mans life is so interesting and he is so seldom heard from that these documentaries that come out ever so often, are truly a treat. I am just a sucker for any time we can peel back the media Belichick layer, and see the football genius he is. As a Patriots fan you love how he handles the media and never gives anyone a headline but as a football fan, you are always asking for more.

I am a Georgia fan through and through. Born, raised, and rooted in Georgia, so hating Saban is kind of in the air down here. But I am a Patriots fan first, and one of the many lessons I have learned from Belichick is respecting success. Even through all their success, I have never subdued to the hating Bama just because they win fad. Yes, even when they ripped Georgia fans hearts out in 2017. To be completely honest, I find myself rooting for Alabama more often than I don't. Watching the program operate is truly a privilege to someone who enjoys the game of football. So needless to say, sitting down to watch the mastermind that is Bill Belichick, and his college counterpart was something I have been looking forward to for a long time.

The documentary opened with a familiar voice, Liev Schriber the narrator for Hardknocks, as we are brought into Saban's office. For the first time we get to see a recorded conversation between the two and even a conversation they didn't intend on anywhere hearing, as HBO might have taken one out of Belichick's book with a hidden camera. The pair immediately started talking shop before anything else. I don't why this should be surprising because these guys lives are football, but before anything else, Saban asks Bill about his formations.

One of the first things that jumped out to me was just how far back they go. I think everybody knew the base of their coaching relationship with Cleveland and being division rivals with Saban's tenure with the Dolphins, but I don't know how many of us knew how far back they went. Basically since they entered the large scale football world, the two have been together. The history lesson within the doc was one of the most intriguing parts to me. Things like the infamous "Do Your Job" motto from 2014 that all Patriots fans live and die by originated from their time in Cleveland. The constant flashbacks and side by side clips of them talking to their teams showed us just how alike they are but that was another thing that stood out to me, they are very different.

The outcome of their careers is almost identical. Both have led dynasty, powerhouse football programs to six championships but you can tell they aren't the same coach. The majority of the film seemed Saban oriented. I think this is because Saban is the more outgoing one. The main difference between them is Saban will talk and he certainly isn't afraid of it. They handle media in completely different ways and that was one thing I wish could have come up in their conversation. Just off comparing these clips from a similar topic when asked about if their quarterback situation would change.

Saban usually isn't wrong in his harsh remarks but it is polar opposite of the response Bill gives. This was one of the main things I found myself watching for throughout the hour. Especially in the clips from practice you could see the differences in the way they act around their teams.

Even still with how different you can tell they are. They are cut from the same cloth, just not the same thread. The respect level they have for each other to not take any assistants, to consult each other on players. Saban said that there isn't one player that Bill has looked at drafting that he hasn't consulted Saban first. That of course raised the question on what lies Saban was telling the team about Cyrus Jones, because it will take more than a trip to Saban's house on lake Burton to make up for that one.

My favorite part of the doc came during the conversation about the olden days of coaching with film development and ice pick charts when Belichick said "it always drives me crazy too we get on the plane after a loss and I walk on the plane...and a lot of times the coaches will be there on their computer and everything. I'm like you know fellas, the reason why we got beat is because we can't tackle and we cant force the run. All the rest of this is a bunch of garbage. This isn't about a computer, you know, getting into some space world technology. We can't tackle." As boomer as that sounds, it is the mind of a coach that is almost extinct. The simplistic approach to the game from someone who had to learn the game from punching holes in play cards is something we won't see in the next generation of coaches.

These guys are one of a kind in their own way. No one will ever be another Saban or Belichick, but the kind of the coach they are is not around anymore. The guy who was born to football and was born to coach. As we switch to a more analytic mindset and an offensive style in coaching, it is important to respect the guys who did it in the "dark ages" of coaching and are still doing it today. We don't know how much longer we will be able to see them orchestrate games, but we just have to soak it all in while we can.

I put review in the title so I think that requires me to give a score.

8.6/10