Devin McCourty says Bill Belichick predicted wind patterns before 2010 win over Jets

"From that point on, there was nothing the guy would tell me where I would be like, 'nope.'"

Bill Belichick’s attention to detail and meticulous prep work have long been lauded as two of the pillars of his success as a six-time Super Bowl champion as a head coach.

But could the future Hall-of-Famer also add meteorologist to his growing list of media commitments?

Former Patriots safety Devin McCourty shed light on a fascinating story about his former coach during a clip from the “This Is Football” podcast series — revealing that Belichick’s prediction of the wind pattern at Gillette Stadium before a Monday Night Football matchup against the Jets in 2010 led to a New York turnover.

“This is my rookie year. We’re playing the Jets on Monday night so we’re doing a nighttime walkthrough Sunday night before the game,” McCourty told host Kevin Clark. “He grabs all the corners, and he grabs me. He said, ‘Hey, running down this sideline, the way the wind pattern is in our stadium going toward the open end, the wind rolls like this.

“So the ball is going to look like it’s going further than it is, but it’s going to hit the wind, and it’s just gonna drop. So when you’re running on this side, make sure you turn around and get your head back.’ And I remember sitting there like, really, dude? The wind pattern?”

While most NFL walkthroughs don’t include extended musings about the wind, McCourty admitted that Belichick’s heads-up immediately paid off while matched up against Jets wideout Braylon Edwards.

“Sure enough, I get a ‘Go’ ball that side against Braylon Edwards. I turn and I look back, and I remembered what Bill said,” McCourty said. “I turn back, the ball drops right in my lap for an interception. From that point on, there was nothing the guy would tell me where I would be like, ‘nope’. I believed in everything. I was drinking the Kool-Aid after that.”

The Patriots went on to easily handle the Jets in that matchup, 45-3, with Belichick’s intricate prep work paying off in real time.

This is far from the only time that Belichick has harped on the wind conditions making an impact in games held at Foxborough.

The 72-year-old coach stressed in July 2023 that Gillette Stadium’s new video board and lighthouse would impact his team’s kicking game due to a change in the wind flows across the football field.