6 most iconic Bill Belichick moments as the head coach of the New England Patriots

Throughout the 23 years that Bill Belichick has been the Patriots' head coach, there has been plenty of memorable moments on and off the field.

The most notable instances, of course, came during the two decades of absolute domination in the league, winning six Super Bowls with ten appearances and accomplishing greatness that will never be replicated.

But, ironically enough, Belichick has had his fair share of iconic moments as well, despite being labeled as serious and unfunny. And the best part about it all with the head coach is most of the more memorable times involving him are unintentionally funny and go viral instantly.

This is just six of the most memorable Belichick moments we've seen over the years, with hopefully more to come as long as he's the head coach in New England.

Intentionally trolling the Jets in a Monday Night Football blowout win

This is one of those moments that any diehard Patriots fan will forever remember and laugh about.

Why? Because it's the Jets.

We know the history between Belichick and the Jets, and if given an opportunity to mess with them, Belichick will take advantage of the moment. That's precisely what he did in the 2019 season when the Patriots were handing New York another beatdown.

Over ten minutes remained in the fourth quarter, and although New England was winning with a score of 33-0, Belichick decided it was the right time to mess with the long-time rival.

After a quick 3-and-out that ended at the Jets' 33-yard line, the punting unit was penalized for what appeared to be an intentional delay of game. In any similar circumstance, it isn't a shocking move because being forced to move back ten yards is beneficial for the punter.

But that's not where it stopped, nor what seemed to be happening.

The penalty was declined, so the special teams unit lined up again, ready to punt. This time, Brandon Bolden was flagged for a false start. Boos started ringing through the stadium since most assumed (correctly) that what was being done was intentional.

Cameras then panned over to Belichick on the sideline and caught the head coach ever so slightly smirking, proving his efforts were to purposely troll the opponent.

It's one of the few moments that a genuine smile was caught on Belichick's face, and it was priceless given the reason that made him so enthused.

"We're on to Cincinnati."

This is easily the most memorable quote by Belichick in the last 20 years.

Although it's a quote from the 2014 season after a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, whenever the Patriots are set to play the Bengals to this day, fans will belt out this line until the game is played.

Maybe the memory attached to the quote isn't the most pleasant, but it isn't really about when it was said or why; it's how many times he said it. Belichick responded to five different questions from reporters with the same answer, creating a long-lasting meme that is still just as good as the day it happened.

Fast forward to the 2022 season, and he nearly gave the media deja vu by handling another tough press conference similar to this iconic moment.

After a tough loss to the Ravens that ended with Mac Jones suffering a high ankle sprain, Belichick was repeatedly questioned about the quarterback's injury. This time, he swapped out "we're on to Cincinnati" with "day-by-day," using that phrase to answer several questions he had no intention of giving an actual response to.

It certainly doesn't have the lasting power that "We're on to Cincinnati" does, but it was too much of a classic Belichick move to forget about.

Transforming into his dog Nike on draft night in 2020

During what was a pivotal draft for the Patriots after losing Tom Brady just a month before, Belichick shocked networks while the team made their second-round selection of Kyle Dugger in 2020.

As the pick was about to be announced, ESPN panned to Belichick's house, where his "war room" was set up due to COVID-19 restrictions kept the coaching staff from meeting together in person. But the head coach was not sitting at the laptop in the shot.

Instead, it was his dog Nike, who was being a good boy as he appeared to be making the picks himself.

It was such a wildly unexpected moment that even the ESPN crew couldn't help but laugh. The photo has become a viral meme still used by Patriots fans when the team is on the clock in the drafts since.

Walking out onto the field and ignoring kids wanting high fives

One of the most viral moments of Belichick's career has to be from the game in Detroit during the 2018 season.

Before the game started, he was making his way onto the field. Two kids can be seen alongside the entrance area holding their hands out, hoping to get a high five from the legendary head coach.

Whether he meant to ignore them and continue walking past them is not yet determined, but the moment created an infamous video that is still just as incredible today.

Besides the video becoming an iconic gif used during every new free agency period, it has also been made into several parodies, with one of the more infamous ones making Belichick into a WWE wrestler and having him come out to Stone Cold Steve Austin's entrance music.

Jawing with Adam Thielen

Things can get tense during a game for any team, especially when the referees make a questionable decision. Although Belichick isn't shy about expressing his frustration on the sideline overall, this was an uncharacteristic moment for the head coach to be vocal with an opposing player mid-game.

The Patriots were winning the week 13 game in 2018 against the Minnesota Vikings, but when the referees decided that the opponents were not stopped short on their fourth and inches play, despite the presumably clear evidence that they were, Belichick reached for his challenge flag right away.

And apparently, Vikings' receiver Adam Thielen took exception to that.

Somehow, he got to the Patriots' sideline and started mouthing off to Belichick specifically. The two exchanged words, with New England defenders coming in to keep Theilen at bay, adding even more weirdness to an odd situation.

It's certainly a memorable moment that many fans still mention five years later, and to some, it's made Thielen an enemy of New England for the rest of time.

"SnapFace," "Instachat," and "MyFace."

One of the moments that continues to be the gift that keeps on giving is Belichick's ignorance of the names of social media platforms.

Throughout the years, with the earliest known time being in 2011 when Chad Ochocinco joined the team, he has misnamed apps and websites that have dominated the internet since the rise of social media.

Back then, the names were "MyFace and Yearbook."

In the years since, they've morphed into "YourFace, InstantFace, SnapFace, and InstaChat." Although it may be hard to imagine that a man who interacts with twenty-somethings regularly wouldn't know the names of social media sites, he is not on any platforms like many other coaches and players around the league.

Regardless, it's a fun little quirk of the head coach that always makes fans laugh when he creates a new name over the years.