Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick are redefining ‘coach speak’

PHOENIX -- An NFL head coach cannot last unless he continually learns to speak the language of his players. That connection is always evolving, a give-and-take where the coach digs deep to touch the essence of the man while prodding the production of the player.

This task is more challenging today than ever with younger NFL players. Often their high school games are televised, they announce to the world with fanfare their college choices, their college games are big business and they strut through the NFL door expecting instant recognition of who they are and what they bring. Often their music choices are brutally harsh, their penchant for social media is strong and their quest for individually is stronger.

How does a 60-something-year-old NFL head coach connect with that?

Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll have in different but effective ways. Both are here in Super Bowl XLIX having solved the language puzzle. Belichick, 62, does it leaning on his brain and banking on his success, by being blunt and direct with his players while still managing to stroke them with his belief that they are the game, that they make the game. Carroll, 63, accomplishes it with an all-in approach, a hug a minute, a completely open dialogue, an insistence that their individuality shine but within his boundaries.

Belichick has watched Carroll and Carroll has watched Belichick. They have taken a bit from each other through many years of crisscrossing. This head-coaching matchup of philosophies and personalities reflected in their respective teams is one of the most compelling in Super Bowl history.

They began their coaching careers in the early ‘70s and have taken notes from each other on team building and player development while always focusing on what works now.

Their longevity and success as coaches influences their teams playing fast and smart, physical and enduring.

They do it all with an enviable ability, after all of these years, of speaking the language of their players.

“I haven’t had a whole lot of one-on-one conversations with Coach Belichick,” said Patriots rookie offensive lineman Cameron Fleming, 22. “But he makes it very easy to follow his lead. I work for him. I know he is a very focused coach. He makes it very clear he wants this football team and each of us to be as great as we can be. That’s all I need.”

Patriots receiver Brian Tyms, 25, in his second Patriots season, said that Belichick is “almost like a grandfather who cracks jokes we sometimes don’t get, and that makes them even funnier.” Tyms said younger Patriots instantly recognize the beauty and clarity of his voluminous football mind.

“Coach Belichick has been coaching for nearly twice as long as I have been living,” said Patriots second-year cornerback Ryan Logan, 23. “But he still comes to work every day with the plan to be the best coach in the building. He gets the social media thing mixed up. He told us about being careful on it and was talking about My Space. We don’t even use that. That was really funny. But I love that he has one standard for every player no matter your age or where you were drafted or even if you were drafted. That is something younger players can buy into.”

Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears has coached with Belichick for 16 years. Fears says the language Belichick speaks with his players is simple.

“Bill is not a phony,” Fears said. “He may not be into Facebook but he is into communication. These guys know they can talk to him, relate to him. But they also know they have to listen. When you have the chance to be around someone as successful as him, you have to listen. Bill has locker room support and leaders in there in guys like Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork to get his messages solidly home. He has us coaches. But here is what he has with young players and all players: He has the history, he is direct with them and he cares about them. When you know where a coach is coming from and you know where he is going and you know he cares, that is the universal language for a football player.”

Tom Cable, Seattle’s offensive line coach, says Carroll tells his players the truth and demands the truth from them.

“Pete is getting these young men ready for games but he is also getting them ready for life after football,” Cable said. “He lets them be individuals, he encourages that, but he has boundaries that people sometimes don’t see or recognize. I tell you what Pete has tapped into with his players as their coach -- he understands that men are human. He understands that men have fear. Fear keeps you from rising. His approach attacks that kind of fear. When a player gets that kind of instruction, that kind of teaching, the player gives you loyalty. The player creates structure. You will always have exceptions. But Pete has shown it is his belief and a formula that works.”

Many Seahawks players call him, simply, “Pete.”

He tirelessly exhibits hearty enthusiasm that encourages players to love their jobs more than view them only as jobs.

“He gets so jacked out there on the practice field that he looks like he wants to play,” said Seahawks receiver Jermaine Kearse, 24, in his third season. “He keeps it loose and he keeps it real. He makes you want to play for him.”

Belichick and Carroll identify players who fit their model. They examine players’ talents and put them in situations where what they do best is what is required. In different ways, they help mold and shape players.

In different ways, they excel at speaking their language.