'Personable' Bill Belichick impresses at NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum

https://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4822308/personable-bill-belichick-impresses-at-nfl-womens-careers-in-football-forum

Belichick helped lead a virtual breakout session for aspiring coaches, along with Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel. Oberlin College (Ohio) cornerbacks coach and director of football operations Alex Hanna, who shared her experience in an interview with ESPN.com.

How would you describe the breakout session?

"It was extremely personable. [Belichick] was super down-to-earth. You can tell, he just wants to teach. And he just wants to bring people up. That was something he harped on, giving so much credit to everyone else around him. The amount of times he spoke about Coach Vrabel vs. speaking on his [own] decorated résumé, it was just incredible. You could tell servant leadership is one of his No. 1 characteristics. That's what we need as women, somebody who reaches their hands down and wants to pull us up."

What did you hear that might be able to help you in your career?

"My question was focused on X's and O's, and the advice he gave in terms of coverages, the game-planning and the teaching progression that he talked about was super applicable to what I do on a day-to-day basis. It will make me a better coach. He came from a NESCAC [school in Wesleyan], and I'm currently at a college that is similar, and so I think he understands the value of coaching at this level. One of the main things he mentioned is to always look for a better way. A better way of teaching. A better way of training. It resonates to me that he's a constant learner. He's everything we want to be, but he's coming out and saying 'I'm looking for new ways to learn and improve.' That's inspiring."

How surprised were you when both coaches shared their contact information?

"The air gets taken out of the room, and everything is so surreal. But at the same time, we're all coaches just having a conversation, learning from one another. They both mentioned they didn't feel like they were above anyone, but they ... said 'Hey, how can we help? You want to chat about Cover 5 and Cover 7? Shoot me an email. Send me your PowerPoint, and we can go into how I would coach up your position in that situation.'"