The time Bill Belichick cut a player on Christmas

Steven Ruiz | USATODAY

Not all Christmas stories have happy endings. Especially when Bill Belichick is involved. Just ask Chargers TE Asante Cleveland, who shared his holiday tale with The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Spoiler alert: Belichick plays the Scrooge role in this Christmas carol…

"He was like, 'Hey Asante. It's Belichick,'" Cleveland recounted, doing his best Belichick voice impression. "He said, 'We're going to have to make some roster moves.' At that point, I knew what 'roster moves' means. It means I'm being moved from the roster. We needed to bring in a cornerback because we were playing the Jets. "He said, 'I just want to let you know this is no indication we're moving away from you. We really like you. … We just need to make this quick transaction.' That call ended. I said, 'Merry Christmas.' I don't know if he heard me. He didn't say it back."

Belichick referring to himself as "Belichick" and not responding to Cleveland's salutation is peak Belichick. We knew he was cold-blooded, but cutting a dude on Christmas? That's borderline heartless.

But that's why NFL coaches make so much money. They have to make these tough decisions. And Belichick's business-like approach to roster management is one of the bigger reasons the Patriots have remained successful for as long as they have.

( Thanks to the Union-Tribune for sharing)