Bill Belichick, Dean Pees reflect on the friendship that brought Pees to the NFL

Pees likes to joke that his main role at that time was to simply “not screw anything up.” Belichick was running a tight ship, and the Patriots were already well down the road of success. The season before Pees joined the staff, the Patriots were Super Bowl champions (for the second time) and Belichick was the reigning NFL Coach of the Year.

The following 2004 season was set to be a success, too, and it was. This time, though, Pees was a part of that Super Bowl win. Two years later, Pees was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Thinking back to that time, Pees said there was a lot he learned about himself, as a play caller, as well as what it takes to be a successful coach within the professional ranks.

Pees said one thing he always admired about Belichick when the two were working together was how he trusted his staff to do what they needed – and at times, wanted – to do. Of course, Pees said with a laugh, that still meant working within the parameters Belichick set, but still.

A misconception about Belichick from the outside looking in may be that the tight ship he runs is a rigid one. According to Pees, that wasn’t his experience at all. Not even close.

“He let you be you,” Pees said, “which is how successful coaches should be.”

Like some of the other “greats” Pees has coached with over the years – Saban and Lou Holtz to name a couple – they all seemed to have one thing in common: Their attention to detail.

It’s something they expect their fellow coaches to have, too. Paying attention to the details was something not only admired but required on the staffs of these head coaches.

It was this thought that was the inception of something Pees has carried with him for years: His signal callers meeting.

Though the meetings started when Pees went to Baltimore, the light bulb went on for Pees when he was with New England.

Upon his first couple years in the league, Pees was asked by a friend what the main difference was between coaching in the college ranks versus the pros. He had…