In his post-NFL career time as a color analyst, Tony Romo has impressed many a television viewer.
During that time, Romo has become even more impressed with Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
It’s a notion not all that arduous to fathom considering the man roaming the New England sidelines is viewed by many as the greatest coach of all-time.
Nonetheless, in his days of pre-game interviews and broadcast preparation, Romo has gained even more respect and admiration for the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach.
“When I am around him I learn,” Romo said of Belichick recently on 105.3 The Fan. “That is really a joy when you can really learn something more about football with people around. When you have people who can teach you the game after you have been studying it for 15-20 years, that is a joy. I have honestly learned every time I am around him. He’s really, really special.”
Special comes with the statistics, as Belichick has coached the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances with six victories to show for them. Both numbers are NFL standards.
The 67-year-old Canton-bound gridiron guru is a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year who also owns the league record with 31 postseason victories.
In the views of many, much of Belichick’s success comes from his sensational ability to game plan against particular teams, taking away their greatest weapons and forcing them from the confines of their comfort zones.
“Bill Belichick, he’s not going to go into a game feeling like we don’t have answers, and when I say that, everyone says he’s going to take away what you do best, they think he’s going to double team the opponent’s best player,” Romo said. “I’m like, ‘No, you have to understand, he’s taking away the inside run while he’s taking away the inside receivers — Antonio Brown or someone.’ It’s like, they know he’s going to take away Antonio Brown, but he takes away multiple things and he does it differently the next time he plays you from different looks.
“He genuinely is not scared to go outside the box. And I find in the NFL very few teams vary from what they do. So what he does then is he drafts people that he believes can adapt from week-to-week.”
It was Belichick and the Patriots‘ latest triumph that impressed Romo greatly.
Though it wasn’t the most exciting Super Bowl, New England’s 13-3 win over Los Angeles in Super Bowl LIII was a masterpiece of game-planning. While the Rams‘ offense had confounded most defenses in their run to big game, the Patriots had none of it.
“What he did in the Super Bowl was really one of the great — him and Brian Flores — one of the greatest defensive performances I have ever seen in football,” Romo said. “And really in the AFC title game. He went to Kansas City and in that first half, Kansas City couldn’t do anything. These two offenses, you saw what happened when these two teams played (each other). These two are great offensive units with very good systems, but what he did was really, really impressive.”
Romo’s rave reviews of “The Hoodie” come as an analyst.
During his 13-year, four-time Pro Bowl career as the Cowboys quarterback, Romo also had some time going head to head with Belichick.
Across his career, Romo’s Cowboys played Belichick’s Patriots on three occasions and New England came away with a win every time. Romo only played in two of the games, but the results were just the same.
Perhaps that’s why Romo has even more respect for Belichick when he faces off with him now, albeit in a far more casual setting ahead of a game.
“From a football mind standpoint, I really don’t know that I have met anybody really that close,” Romo said. “He’s rare. A lot of times I will ask coaches and other people certain questions that I know are probably a little bit difficult, but it kind of shows me real quick whether or not they have answers.”
When the game is the biggest, Belichick has had the right answers more than any coach in history.