Greg Schiano and Bill Belichick have been confidants for several years, as Steven Belichick played at Rutgers.

But Schiano also would observe New England practices before he coached Belichick's son.

“[Belichick] has a way of simplifying things," Schiano said. “I’ll hear some coaches do a three-page essay on how to handle a situation. Bill will say it in a sentence. That to me is being so familiar and the experience that he has that he’s able to see it clearly. Any good leader can do that, take the stuff that’s all over the place and bring it right to here."