Every year, the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon unites the city of Boston, as WEEI and NESN team up to raise money for a great cause, and on Wednesday, a special moment took place between four of the region's coaches.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora, Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens and Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy all came together in-studio to talk about the greatest sports city in the world. Coach Bill Belichick called into the round table from Gillette Stadium, but before practice wrapped up, the trio of coaches talked the unique bond that connects them all.
Last year, Cora and members of his team came to Gillette Stadium to celebrate their World Series victory, and just this preseason alone, Cassidy and Stevens paid a visit to Gillette Stadium to sit in on practice. Throughout each other's seasons, they all said it is not uncommon to lean on each other for advice, and Cassidy said before the Bruins playoff run, he reached out to Belichick.
"I talked to Bill before our playoffs and he was super. We talked for at least 20 minutes about everything," Cassidy said. "I can't say enough good things about him when we had that initial discussion, how open he was with what he thought would be good in terms of helping the group in the playoff scenarios."
Stevens said after seeing how the team operates up close, he was impressed with how everyone was on the same page.
"I think the thing that stands out when you go over and watch the Patriots do workouts, sit in meetings, sit in film, is that they are on one page. They are in one direction and his message, although has thousands of complexities in each scheme offensively and defensively, his message is concise and it's ultimately not only well-delivered but well-received and you can tell that thing is a juggernaut," Stevens said. "That thing is a train moving in one direction and they know what they need to do to be successful. I don't think it's brain surgery. The way that I've seen it from up close and afar is they don't beat themselves."
Cora echoed this, saying that with how much work the team puts in before each game, if they lose, it's usually not because of a mistake or lack of preparation.
"For me it's preparation and the way they go about it on Sundays. It's just like we're going to play this way and if you beat us, you beat us. We didn't beat ourselves ... But with them, I've been watching this team for five, six years and it's like, wow. How precise they are, they're almost perfect. When they lose a game, it's not because they're sloppy or they're undisciplined, it's that the other team that Sunday was just better than you."
Boston truly is a special sports city, and the respect that these coaches have for one another is a shining example of just how unique it really is.
