Bill O'Brien says this Patriots QB once called out Bill Belichick's smelly feet

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a no-sock-and-shoes kind of guy, which might not always be a good mix for those occasions when he’s barefooted with other people in the room.

Bill O’Brien, the former Patriots offensive coordinator, recently appeared on the “Games with Names” podcast and spoke of one of those occasions that occurred during his first year with the team.

According to O’Brien, the incident happened during a quarterbacks meeting in a room with Belichick, Tom Brady and Matt Cassel.

Belichick took his shoes off during the meeting, and the whiff of smelly feet in the air prompted Cassel to comment.

“Bill would come in later in the week and meet with the quarterbacks,” said O’Brien. “And Bill would take his shoes off, and Bill didn’t wear socks. At that time, the quarterback meeting room was pretty small. I remember this one meeting, Matt Cassel was like, ‘What is that smell?’ And nobody said anything.

“We’re all like [puts head down]. Matt Cassel, he was the very funny guy who didn’t care about making anyone uncomfortable. He was like, ‘Seriously, Bill, is that your feet?’ I’ll never forget this. Bill looks at him, and he goes, ‘Cassel, just shut the [expletive] up.'”

The moral of this story is sometimes the air of greatness smells like sweaty feet. In those rare instances, you zip your lips, grab the nearest paper sack, clutch your stomach and take it all in.