Getty Bill Belichick
The New England Patriots way is not for everyone.
Some players, like Trent Brown and Jamie Collins have been Patriots, left the team and have come back. In Collins’ case, he has returned twice and is on his third stint with the team.
Future Hall-of-Famer Darrelle Revis helped the Patriots win Super Bowl 49 over the Seattle Seahawks. That 2014 NFL season was the only Revis played with the Patriots before heading back to the New York Jets, where he’d played six of the first seven years of his career.
Why did Revis only play one year in New England? Quite simply, it appears he didn’t like playing for Bill Belichick or the Patriots organization.
Darrelle Revis Didn’t Enjoy His Time in New England
Revis appeared on the latest episode of the I Am Athlete podcast and he spoke candidly about his time with the Patriots.
Revis told the I Am Athlete cast of hosts:
Nobody likes it in the locker room. Just being honest, nobody likes it. Channing Crowder, one of the hosts asked if winning made him enjoy the time a little more, and Revis wouldn’t budge. He said: “No, I did not. You know, I’m happy for the grind and the hustle of winning Super Bowl 49, but you know waking up every day and walking into the facility and having to deal with the tension, you see why they’ve been to ten Super Bowls. You see the hustle and the grind of it, but at the end of the day, there’s other philosophies to win and it doesn’t have to be that way.
Revis’ appreciation for the Patriots’ success and tradition is apparent. However, it is also clear the Patriot Way wasn’t as comfortable for him as his time with the Jets.
Revis Seemed to Enjoy His Time With the Jets a Little More
The Jets drafted Revis with the No. 14 pick out of Pittsburgh in the 2007 NFL Draft. Between 2007-12, Revis went to four Pro Bowls and made first-team All-Pro three times. He was largely regarded as the best cornerback in the NFL during that time, which he spent with the Jets playing for head coach Rex Ryan.
Revis said this of his time with the Jets playing under Ryan in comparison to his time in New England:
Rex is a little bit more loose, he likes dogs, he wants you to go out there and play hard, run into a wall, that’s fine. But there’s a lot of news going on right now with Bill, in terms of him and (Patriots owner) Mr. (Robert) Kraft, and there’s a lot of stuff surfacing right now. When you play with the New England Patriots, there’s a lot of pressure every time you walk in the door because it’s a lot of tension, it’s a lot of noise going on in the background where, [with] how the team is [run], it’s unknown. You don’t know what Mr. Kraft is doing; you don’t know what Bill’s doing.
Patriots fans will rightfully point to the Patriots’ general dominance over the Jets and the rest of the AFC East during that time. New England won the division in all but one of those seasons.
Revis is entitled to his opinion and preference for work environment, but New England’s results are hard to argue against.