Bill Belichick dons Navy helmet on College GameDay. Credit: ESPN
College FootballESPNBy Sean Keeley on

Bill Belichick might seem absolutely miserable on the sidelines of New England Patriots games this season, but the ornery curmudgeon was downright delightful on Saturday during his appearance on ESPN College GameDay before the Army-Navy game.

Belichick was raised in Annapolis, Maryland where his father was an assistant coach with Navy, so you could probably guess who this week’s guest picker was going to select. Sure enough, when it was his turn, the eight-time Super Bowl champion (don’t forget those Giants titles) did his best Lee Corso impression and broke out some headgear.

“Coach, I’m gonna take a page out of your book here,” Belichick said, referring to Corso before revealing an old Navy football helmet. “The 1962 [helmet]. This is the Jolly Roger and ‘Beat Army’ in Chinese for  Paul Dietzel’s Chinese Bandits. Go Navy. Beat Army.”

Belichick then immediately took the helmet off because there’s only so much fun he could allow himself at one time. Though, to be fair, he put the helmet back on to pose with Corso, who was wearing the Navy mascot head.

Football fans don’t get to see this side of Belichick too often so everyone seemed to revel in getting a peak at the human being under the frumpled Patriots sweatshirt.

There’s been some speculation recently that Belichick could make a move into the media world. While that often seems crazy given his usual demeanor and relationship with the media, this appearance might just go a long way to make people reconsider that assumption. He seemed like fun!

[AA on Twitter, ESPN]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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