NFL fans – read: those that aren’t fervent supporters of the New England Patriots – love to hate Bill Belichick. In front of cameras, he’s a rumpled, mumbling, monotone, unsmiling curmudgeon, with no time for intact sleeves (see photo above) or questions he deems foolish.

In 16-plus seasons under Belichick, the Patriots have won four Super Bowls, six AFC Championships, and 13 AFC East titles. Despite the success he’s enjoyed – Belichick also has two Super Bowl rings from his days as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, though his stint as head coach of the Cleveland Browns didn’t end well – he says he still loves his job, loves teaching, and at 64, has shown no signs of being ready for retirement.

A new ESPN the Magazine story, which went online Tuesday, aims to paint a better picture of Belichick beyond the rumpled, mumbling, monotone, unsmiling curmudgeon most see him as, through the eyes of over two dozen people who have worked with, played for or dealt with Belichick in his adult life.

The entire feature is worth your time, but here are our five favorite vignettes:

Former Cleveland Browns assistant coach and scout and current director of the Senior Bowl, Phil Savage: “(Nick) Saban might be the greatest college coach ever, and I can honestly say in the last eight years at Alabama I have never once seen him tired. But in Cleveland, under Bill, he’d go slump down against a wall and stutter, ‘I gotta get out of here, I can’t function anymore.’ Bill could outwork all of us.”

Former Patriots director of college scouting and current Tennessee Titans GM, Jon Robinson: “After my daughter was diagnosed at 6 with Type 1 diabetes, a week later on my desk there was a little teddy bear, with a Belichick hoodie on it. And he had written a little note: ‘I know this doesn’t cure it, but just something for Taylor to know we are thinking about her and praying for her.’ She knew it was from Coach. She named her bear Hoodie.”

Belichick friend Mike Whalen, Wesleyan University athletic director and former football coach: “My first year as coach at Wesleyan I’m trying to turn things around and I’m recruiting a kid out of West Hartford who was leaning toward Princeton. So I emailed Bill and asked him to call the kid. Bill calls him that same night and the kid hangs up on him. ‘Hello, this is Bill Belichick from the New England Patriots,’ and the kid goes, ‘Yeah, right.’ Bill keeps going: ‘I’d like to talk to you about Wesleyan and the kind of opportunity you’ll have there,’ and the kid goes, ‘Yeah, yeah, sure, Bill’ — click. Bill emails me and says, ‘I reached out to him but, um, I don’t think I really connected.'”

Former Patriots running back Kevin Faulk: “When he first got to New England, for almost three years I’d see Bill in the hallway going to breakfast at the facility. Now, I’m from Louisiana. I don’t care who you are, I’m going to say ‘Good morning, how you doing? How’s everything today?’ But for the longest time I’d walk right past Coach Belichick, say ‘Good morning!’ and I’d get nothing back. Nothing. I said good morning to him for years. Then, one day I said it and he finally looked up and said, ‘Good morning, Kevin,’ and so I reached out and I stopped him, and he was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, Kevin, what are you doing? What’s wrong?’ And I said, ‘You said good morning! Do you know how long I’ve been saying good morning to you and you haven’t said a word?’ He just says, ‘Aw, Kevin, my bad’ and walks away.”

Former Patriots and current Titans quarterback Matt Cassel: “My rookie year, I got crushed in the back by a corner blitz against the Giants. We’re playing them the next year in the last preseason game. He asks me, ‘OK, Cassel, what front do they like to bring the corner blitz from?’ I had looked it up the night before, anticipating it. I said, ‘Coach, it’s an over.’ And he goes, ‘(Tom) Brady?’ Well, you know immediately when he goes to the next guy: ‘Oh, no. Oh, no.’ And Brady says, ‘An under.’ And he goes, ‘Brady’s right. I don’t want to have to send your mother another note that says, ‘Dear Mrs. Cassel, we regret to inform you that your son got killed being a dumbass.'”

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