Bret Bielema recalls Bill Belichick hiring him to Patriots staff after Arkansas firing

When current Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema looks back on his career, his stints as a head coach will likely be at the top of his mind. Not far behind that, however, is the bridge time he spent in the NFL after being fired by Arkansas.

That run in the NFL was made possible when Bill Belichick initially hired Bielema to be a consultant to the head coach with the New England Patriots. Recently, he appeared on Pardon My Take. There, he broke down the process that led to him taking the job on the Patriots staff.

“It was crazy,” Bret Bielema said. “So, I got let go at Arkansas. That next day, 7:00 in the morning, my phone was ringing. It’s Coach Belichick. And I’m like, ‘Alright.’ So, I pick it up and he just starts talking to me. He talked about relating things when he got let go at Cleveland, and I really didn’t know Bill. He had drafted a lot of my players. And he had four guys on the roster that year that were former players of mine that he’d drafted.”

Bielema first became a head coach in 2006 with Wisconsin. He then transitioned to Arkansas in 2013, which was a job he held through the 2017 season. After a 4-8 season, he’d be let go. That was in the middle of one of the great runs of success for Belichick and the Patriots. From 2014 through 2018, New England won three Super Bowls and played in four.

“He just kind of started talking to me. He said, ‘Hey, I don’t know how long we’re gonna go, but when we’re done, I’d like to give you a call and see if you’d like to think about working in our organization.’ Didn’t know what it was,” Bielema said. “So, literally, that was the year they got beat by Philly. The next day at 11:00 he called me. He said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in this?’ So, I started watching some film. He didn’t offer me a job.”

Belichick didn’t hire Bielema right away. Instead, he spent much of the offseason calendar meeting with him, under various circumstances. During that time, the two got to know one another and eventually came to an agreement to work together.

Then, we met at the Combine. I went on Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. Saturday night, he’s like, ‘Hey, can you go with me? I’m driving to my place in Nashville. Then, I’m going to the Alabama Pro Day.’ So, I’m like, ‘Sure. I don’t have any clothes but yeah.’ So, we hopped in a car from Indianapolis and drove to Nashville. I was driving the whole way, which was an experience and a half. Don’t really know the man, right? And then he just kept kind of giving me other jobs,” Bielema said. “And then, finally, when we were in the spring, he invited me to the Draft. Then, in the spring, he said, ‘Would you like to stick around and be with us in the fall?’ I’m like, ‘Sure, what?’ And he goes, ‘Whatever you want to do.” And then he came up with that title.”

The actual title of consultant to the head coach can feel like a job where nothing gets done to fans. At least in New England, that wasn’t the case. Belichick would have Bielema consistently working on projects.

“One of the first projects. He gave me four teams to look at in a playoff season,” Bielema said. “And said, ‘Look at it in the redzone and tell me what you think.’ So, I literally did this little project. I think that’s what it turned into. I ended up working on the defensive side of the ball. Brian Flores. I kind of gravitated toward that side. The next year, I was a D-line coach. But, I’ll tell you, with Coach Belichick I learned something every day I’d never heard before. He is truly one of the most brilliant football minds I’ve ever been around.”

Bret Bielema would win a Super Bowl with New England and spent time as a defensive line coach there too. He’d also spend a year as a linebackers coach with the New York Giants before making the jump back to college to lead Illinois.