This week, Belichick explained the message he was sending his team.

''I've been with some very successful franchises,'' he said. ''The Giants, the Jets, and with those teams we had some very successful systems. And not just X's and O's, with everything, including conditioning. So I am trying to do here what we did with those franchises. I'm telling the players, 'This works. It's proven. So let's follow it.' ''

Or, do not follow at your own risk.

Belichick is not the only new National Football League head coach trying to grab a fast foothold inside his players' heads. In Miami, Dave Wannstedt loaded his team on a bus and took them to see the Imax film ''Michael Jordan: To the Max'' as a way to build camaraderie, something that was missing under Jimmy Johnson. In Green Bay, players were often late for meetings when Ray Rhodes was head coach, so Mike Sherman has installed digital clocks throughout the complex and beefed up the system for imposing fines.

In one of Al Groh's first days as Jets head coach, he had a spiffy video presentation that first showed an image of Bill Parcells and commented that the legend is not coaching anymore. Then Groh flashed the image of Belichick and said that the genius was gone. A picture of wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson followed and Groh explained that the star was in Tampa Bay. He concluded by saying despite the brain and talent drain, the Jets were still a good team, and there should be no excuses.

Belichick's actions are in the same vein as those other coaches. The difference with Belichick is that he is a work in progress.

In some ways, he is still the same coach he has always been: always intellectual, always a brilliant tactical mind. Tough, disciplined, up at five in the morning planning the day.

''You can tell he is a hard worker,'' defensive back Lawyer Milloy said. ''And we needed a chewing out. I respect a coach who can walk up to you and say, 'You're not cutting it.' ''

In other ways, Belichick is evolving. After landing the job with New England, Belichick immediately realized he could not be the same person who coached the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995, when his record was 37-45. Then, some players and front-office executives viewed him as impersonal and gruff.

Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.

Now, Belichick smiles more. He makes jokes. The front office feels at ease with him. And he has added perspective to his personality. In fact, Belichick did something head coaches rarely do: he admitted to making a mistake. Belichick said that sometimes he and other coaches from the two Super Bowl Giants teams went too far in disciplining their players.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story

''I think I've mellowed since then, yes,'' Belichick said. ''Age does that. When I look back at some of the things we did as coaches on those Giants teams, we went too far in some instances. There were times when during meetings we would take canisters of film and throw them across the room, to make sure the players knew we were upset. That was unnecessary.''

Belichick added: ''We would punish a player by making him run laps all day. ''Sometimes guys would run so long, by the time they were done, practice was almost over. There were times we had them run 25 or 30 sprints. If a player jumped offside during practice, we would make him run three long laps. We could have probably gotten the message across with one. I think getting older has really helped me understand balance.''

Belichick, by many accounts, has matured, maybe even since those bizarre days in early January when he abruptly resigned as coach of the Jets after only 48 hours. Eventually, a settlement was reached between the Jets and the Patriots, with the Jets receiving a No. 1 pick to allow Belichick out of his contract.

During a wide-ranging conversation at the Patriots' training camp, the only place it was difficult to pin down Belichick was on his relationship with Parcells, which spans almost two decades and seems to be as complex as one of Belichick's defenses. One thing is clear -- their relationship was strictly professional with little personal interaction. In fact, people close to both men maintain a small rivalry developed.

An example of that happened this past season. During some national broadcasts of Jets games, a chart of Parcells's record with Belichick as an assistant (117-73-1) and without Belichick (21-27) was often flashed on the screen. A television executive said Parcells complained about the statistic, calling it inaccurate. Parcells declined to comment for this article.

When asked to describe their relationship, Belichick said: ''Bill and I worked together a long time. We had a lot of success. We didn't need to talk a lot or have a lot of meetings about things. I knew what he wanted, and he allowed me to do what I wanted. With the Jets, he worked a lot with the offense, and gave me a lot of latitude.''

New England does have the potential to do well in the rugged American Football Conference East. The Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe is in his prime and the defense is solid. The team's biggest problem -- one that has plagued the franchise since Curtis Martin made a fast break for New York three years ago -- is that they have no proven running back. And in recent days, the Patriots have been crippled by a number of injuries, forcing the team to cancel a scrimmage this week against the Giants.

Still, no one should bet against Belichick, who has had success at almost every coaching stop. Can his Patriots make the playoffs this coming season?

Phat chance.