Bill Belichick did something for Travis Kelce that he rarely does.
The longtime Patriots coach, after shaking hands with Chiefs coach Andy Reid following a 27-17 loss on Sunday, didn’t exit the field at Gillette Stadium but sought out Kansas City’s star tight end, with whom he had an extended exchange.
“Appreciate you, coach,” Kelce said to Belichick.
Belichick, whose job status in New England is uncertain with the team at 3-11, then pulled Kelce, 34, in close to tell him a few more things before the two parted ways.
Kelce has just five catches for 28 yards in the game.
“I’ve got all the respect in the world for that guy,” Kelce said after the game, via Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times. “Every single time I go up against him — it’s the toughest job in the NFL, to go up against a Belichick defense. He throws so much at you.
“He always has a lot of guys that can play smart, so hats off to Belichick today for making my life tough, that’s for damn sure. On top of that, he’s getting a good group of guys to play well together. I’ve got a lot of respect for that team.”
Kelce also said of Belichick, “I got a feeling that guy has some football left in him,” amid growing speculation his tenure in New England could be coming to an end.
The chat appears to be just a show of respect from Belichick to the two-time Super Bowl champ.
The future Hall of Fame coach, 71, also chatted with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive end Chris Jones after the contest.
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It’s unclear if Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift came up in their talk.
Swift, 34, and her father, Scott Swift, attended Sunday’s game and sat in a suite with Mahomes’ wife, Brittany.
The usually curmudgeonly Belichick has shown some signs of becoming Swiftie in the past.
He revealed back in August he caught one of Swift’s shows at Gillette Stadium during the superstar’s “Eras Tour” this summer and appreciated the Grammy winner’s commitment to the performance in a heavy rainstorm.
“That was pretty impressive,” Belichick said on “The Greg Hill Show” at the time. “She is tough, man. She just stood out there and played right through [the rain].”
He did stop short of labeling himself a Swiftie.
“Officially?” Belichick said. “I don’t know about that … What does that mean, like you have a sweatshirt or something?”
When asked on the show about Kelce’s relationship with Swift in September, Belichick delivered a witty response.
“Well, I would say that Travis Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career,” Belichick said. “This would be the biggest.”
Maybe he passed that along to Kelce himself on Sunday.
