Chilly v. Belichick
By Dan Zinski
Brad Childress is once again butting heads, sort of, with Hall-of-Fame Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
The latest intrigue: This morning it was announced that the Vikings had claimed Pats TE Garrett Mills off waivers. As it turns out, Belichick was hoping to sneak Mills onto the practice squad – and was so upset about the Vikings placing a claim on him that he actually called Brad Childress and threatened to snatch one of the Vikings’ own potential practice squad players. This did not stop Childress from proceeding. Now, we are all in suspense about which Viking player Belichick might claim in revenge. It’s already been pointed out that the Pats are thin at QB, so Tyler Thigpen, a player Childress likes, could be a target. However, it actually appears the Eagles could beat the Patriots to Thigpen.
This is not the first time Childress has gotten up in Belichick’s face. Last year, during the week leading up to the Patriots game, Childress performed some Belichick-style hanky-panky by manipulating the injury report, and unleashed another Belichick trick by closing practice to the media – tactics that had as much to do with tweaking the Patriots coach as trying to gain a competitive advantage. Belichick of course got the ultimate revenge when his team thrashed Childress’s 31-7.
This time, it looks like Childress is simply adding a player he likes to the roster – but it still probably gives him a perverse satisfaction to stick it to Belichick. At least this year we don’t have to play the Patriots, so Belichick won’t be able to get back at Chilly by making him and his entire coaching staff appear clueless and amateurish in game action.