6X SB champ Bill Belichick shares importance of owning mistakes to make stride in one's career

Making mistakes is okay, but owning them and moving on defines a great leader. Legendary coach Bill Belichick is a believer in this notion and has followed it religiously throughout his over 50-year career. On Friday, the veteran coach sat down with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly to promote his new book “The Art of Winning: Lessons from my life in football”.

He shed light on various aspects of his life and coaching Hall of Fame-worthy teams. Belichick believes that the most important aspect for a person's success is learning from mistakes.

“I think the number one area for me, Jason, is when time is of the essence, and that's in a game, you come to the sideline something bad happened out on the field. We gotta fix it,” Belichick said on Thursday. [Timestamp - 19:15]

He claimed that he owned up to the times he took the wrong step or made the wrong call over the last five decades.

“I can say, I messed that up. It's my fault. Everybody else. Keep doing what you're doing. I'll make the adjustment that it's all takes care of it. But if we all sit there and it's like, Well, should I do this? Should I've done that? Should he have done something else? Well, sometimes you have to figure that out.

During clutch moments between games, there isn't sufficient time to contemplate whether the decision taken was right or wrong; rather, the focus must be on the next play and moving forward.

"You play a little bit wider, you play a little bit tighter, you backup a little bit. Here's how we're going to handle that. But sometimes it's as simple as just, I screwed it up. Yeah, it's my fault. Keep doing what you're doing. We're fine. I'll make the adjustment. It won't happen again,” he added.

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When Dabo Swinney remained awestruck by Bill Belichick's curiosity

Bill Belichick has witnessed nearly all phases of the football world, from developing players to generations coming and going before his eyes.

A master of his craft, unwavering curiosity kept the UNC coach going forward. This offseason, he shared a brief moment with his ACC counterpart, Dabo Swinney, during which they discussed football and strategies for the 2025 season.

Swinney recalled an ACC meeting where Belichick - despite being the most senior - eagerly asked questions about the game operations and rules. This marks a new era as Belichick begins his college coaching debut in 2025.

Edited by William Paul