Bill Belichick explains why he allowed his ‘Football Life’ to be filmed

Bill Belichick says his respect for NFL Films cleared the way for his upcoming documentary.

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick said Monday he looks forward to seeing the upcoming two-part NFL Network documentary – “A Football Life: Bill Belichick” – shot in 2009 by NFL Films.

“When they approached us on it, it was the Patriots’ 50th season, my 35th season in the NFL, so it was a little bit of a unique situation and so, organizationally, they captured the team’s 50th year along with what I did,” Belichick said. “They really did it in a way that was not intrusive. They didn’t really know what they were going to do with it. They just did it to archive it and do it in a historical way and there were no set plans on what to do with it, how to present it or anything like that. That evolved, I guess, later on.”

The documentary captures Belichick on the field and off, showing him with the team and also relaxing at his vacation home on Nantucket.

“I have a ton of respect for NFL Films, Steve Sabol, Ken Rodgers, their whole crew, staff down there,” Belichick added. “I think they do a tremendous job and they’ve always been good to work with. I have a great trust in what they do and the professional way they present it. And so, I personally agree with but organizationally, we also signed off on it.”

NFL Films executive Steve Sabol was on hand in Canton this summer as his father – and NFL Films founder – Ed Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Belichick said he has not been shown the entire two-part series, with the first part set to debut on Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve just seen a couple of excerpts of it. I hope they can find a way to make me look not so bad,” Belichick said. “I haven’t seen the whole thing. I’m sure there’s a lot in there that’s not just about me. They put it together. It’s their thing. I don’t really know what they have, how it’s presented or the flow of it or anything else. I’m sure I’ll be a main character in the show, based on the title.”