Bailey Zappe earned a firm handshake from Bill Belichick in the locker room after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers a few weeks back.
After Zappe engineered his first game-winning drive against the Denver Broncos Sunday night, moving the ball into field goal range ahead of Chad Ryland’s 56-yard game-winner in the final seconds, the Patriots quarterback wanted to drop the formality with his head coach.
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“The handshake thing, I told him when I walked in after the Broncos game, he reached out for the handshake, and I was like, ‘Coach, no more handshakes. Let’s go for a hug,’” Zappe explained Tuesday when asked about the hug during his appearance on WEEI’s “Jones and Mego” show. “So that’s kind of how that all happened.”
Through all the ups and down, through Belichick releasing Zappe at the start of the year, the quarterback said he’s learned a lot from the Patriots coach and their relationship has improved over time.
“It’s definitely grown over the last year or two that I’ve been here. Me and him have always had a great relationship,” he said. “I’ve always been able to walk into his office, ask any questions, and he’s been very open to answering anything I had questions about.”
While there’s been plenty of speculation with respect to Belichick’s future in New England, Zappe said he can’t help but smile when he thinks about being led by the six-time Super Bowl winning coach.
“It’s awesome to be coached by one of the greatest, or the greatest of all-time,” said Zappe. “I come into the building every day happy to be able to learn from him, and kind of just be a sponge, and listen to everything he has to say about the entirety of the game of football.”
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