Six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parted ways in January 2024. This sparked a lot of commentary on the coach’s legacy. Offensive lineman Damien Woody played for the Patriots from 1999 to 2003 and was integral in helping the team win two Super Bowls. Speaking on ESPN's morning talk show First Take, Woody explains how Belichick went the extra mile to help him reach his full potential, on the field and in life:

I tell people this all the time. Every moment I stepped in that building in New England it was like game day every day. You had to be mentally and physically prepared to be in a grinder. That's the type of environment that Bill had in New England. He always made sure that everyone was uncomfortable. Because we know that when you're uncomfortable that's when the greatest growth comes about within you as a person. So, it should surprise no one the level of success that Bill and the New England Patriots had because of the environment that was there.

But I remember Bill back in my early days. "I think it was like 2001, Bill Belichick put an anchor in our locker room. That anchor signified how much overweight we were as a football team and how much dead weight we were carrying around that was keeping us as a team from getting to where we want to go. During my playing career I always had problems with my weight. So instead of reaming me, Bill went out of his way to set me up at a program at Duke University. Paid for it himself. I was down there for two months. This man came down to North Carolina multiple times to check on me to see how I was doing.

That to me speaks volumes about the man. And so, like I sit here today just processing and I'm thankful for every lesson that I learned there because I've been able to carry that not only through my playing career but just through my life in general.