No, we’re not kidding. Bill Belichick has joined Instagram. Or “Instaface,” as he calls it.
The veteran New England Patriots coach, out of a job this season for the first time since his coaching career began in 1975, has joined the social media space he long avoided. His handle: @BillBelichick.
Belichick announced his presence with his first post, referencing His long-standing joke “SnapFace” and making fun of his boredom due to unemployment.
Belichick’s introduction:
“Hi everyone. Are you surprised to see me here? Well, me too. For the past few months, and not being on a team, I haven’t had the chance to express my thoughts at any time. So now I’m changing that. I tried to join Snapface, but I couldn’t find it. I decided that this was a good place for me, so I could talk to you guys and share what I’m doing, because there’s a lot going on. So here I am. Hi, Instaface. See you soon.”
Belichick also confirmed his foray into Instagram in ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” as well as a joint post with the NFL accountBy early Wednesday afternoon, it already had more than 100,000 followers.
The coach’s top 12 followers are also interesting. There are some obvious ones (the NFL, Belichick’s foundation, his girlfriend Jordan Hudson), Belichick’s media affiliations (Omaha Productions and the two Manning brothers, The 33rd Team, McAfee and the “Coach” podcast), his longtime right-hand man, Berj Najarian, and, of course, Tom Brady.
So any hatchet job appears to be buried as both the coach and quarterback begin their media careers.
Belichick is certainly doing that at full speed, despite appearing very interested in returning to the NFL coaching ranks if the right position opens up. He’s already said to be a regular on The CW’s “Inside the NFL,” “The Pat McAfee Show” and the Manningcast this season, so joining social media was a natural step to increase his reach.