A day may come when Bill Belichick loses his passion for football, but, at 67 years old, the New England Patriots head coach seems anything but content.

NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran recently spoke to Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who worked for the Patriots 12 years ago. Among other things, Dimitroff offered a fascinating description of his former boss at last month’s NFL Owners Meetings.

“I saw him recently at the owners meetings and he is ON TOP of it,” Dimitroff told Curran. “He is the lead dog, no question about it. He has strong opinions, he delivers them succinctly and articulately when he’s discussing what’s important to him and it’s fun watching him navigate through all of that.

“There are a lot of coaches and general managers that are several years younger and a lot that have a lot of experience as well but they take their hat off, so to speak, and listen. He delivers with such assurance and such knowledge that, again, it continues to impress on so many levels.”

For someone who’s been vilified by so many around the NFL, Belichick remains committed to giving back to the game that he loves.

Next season will be Belichick’s 45th in the NFL, and 24th as a head coach.

Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images