Bill Belichick was all business until letting up his guard at the end of his Wednesday press briefing. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)

FOXBORO — On Tuesday, Doc Rivers expressed his gratitude to Bill Belichick for letting him sit in on an offensive game plan meeting prior to Monday night’s game.

On Wednesday, Belichick essentially said the pleasure was all his.

“It was great to have Doc here,” Belichick said. “I have a lot of respect for Doc and the program the Celtics run. I think he does a tremendous job coaching his team. I really admire the way his teams play, the way his players play. I think he has great leadership from a lot of those guys and has had it through the years. Certainly Kevin [Kevin Garnett] and Paul [Paul Pierce] and guys like that. We’ve learned a lot from watching them.”

Has Belichick ever sat in on pregame Celtics meetings like Rivers did on Monday?

“We talk. We exchange ideas,” Belichick said. “I’m certainly pulling for them and I know they’re pulling for us. We definitely have a rooting interest in it but beyond that, on a professional level, I think there’s certainly a lot that I’ve learned from watching Doc and the Celtics and the way they do a lot of things organizationally and his coaching style and some of the things he’s talked to me about the way he’s handled players and handled different situations and things like that. He’s talked to our team and said a lot of things that really made sense and really hit home. I’ve had an opportunity to talk to his guys a couple times. We have a good relationship. We’ve probably both learned from each other.”

In keeping with the light-hearted NBA theme toward the end of Belichick’s presser Wednesday, he was asked if it would be a good idea to just wave at the coach at the end of the game like they do in the NBA instead of a handshake? Read the rest of this entry »

Bill Belichick (AP)

Forbes has published its annual list of coaches’ salaries, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick is at the top of the list once again. Forbes says he makes $7.5 annually, which is tops among all North American football, baseball, basketball and hockey coaches.

Belichick’s salary has been a closely guarded secret over the years. The last time we heard talk about it was back in 2007, when it was reported the coach and franchise agreed to an extension that would keep him with the franchise through at least the 2013 season, according to ESPN. And earlier that year, Belichick made a brief mention about his contract situation.

“I don’t talk about contracts, but I would say I like working here, I like the organization — ownership, coaches, scouts, players, and the guys I work with,” he said in July 2007. “I appreciate the opportunity to work here, and it’s a good situation. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Belichick has been a fairly regular presence on the Forbes list. In 2010, Belichick was second to then-Lakers coach Phil Jackson. But after Jackson retired followed that season, Belichick moved into the top spot at $7.5 million, which makes 2012 his second straight year at No. 1 overall.

Belichick isn’t the only New England coach in the Top 10. Celtics coach Doc Rivers was tied for second with Redskins’ coach Mike Shanahan, Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, all at $7 million, annually. (For the complete list, CLICK HERE.)

Bill Belichick (AP)

With the retirement of Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson, Patriots coach Bill Belichick is now the highest-paid coach in the four major professional sports, according to Forbes.

The magazine estimates Belichick takes home an annual salary of $7.5 million — he just edges out Seattle’s Pete Carroll and Washington’s Mike Shanahan, both of whom make an estimated $7 million annually, according to Forbes. (Doc Rivers also just joined the $7 million club — he inked a new deal with the Celtics earlier this week.)

With the retirement of Jackson (who made a reported $10.3 million last year), Forbes writes: “Little surprise, then, that Belichick now takes home more money than any coach in the four major North American sports leagues–some $7.5 million a year, we estimate. The Patriots have never publicly confirmed Belichick’s contract details, but industry pundits have little doubt that the long-term extension he signed in 2007 is north of the roughly $7 million annually that Mike Holmgren was getting from the Seattle Seahawks.”

The rest of the Top 10 is dominated by NFL coaches: Chicago’s Lovie Smith makes $6 million, Arizona’s Ken Whisenhunt makes $5.75 million, New York’s Tom Coughlin makes $5.25 million and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin checks in with at $5 million annually.

The last time we heard Belichick talk about his deal was back in 2007, when it was reported the coach and franchise agreed to an extension that would keep him with the franchise through at least the 2013 season, according to ESPN.

“I don’t talk about contracts, but I would say I like working here, I like the organization — ownership, coaches, scouts, players, and the guys I work with,” he said in July 2007. “I appreciate the opportunity to work here, and it’s a good situation. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft on the wake of the 2007 AFC championship win over the Chargers. (AP)

A couple of days after it said the Patriots were the No. 10 most valuable sports team brand in the world, Forbes magazine published its list of the 10 highest-paid coaches in professional sports, and it has Bill Belichick at No. 2 with an annual salary of $7.5 million.

The magazine says: “After a so-so run in Cleveland in the early 1990s, Belichick has reeled off a 112-48 record with New England since 2000, including nine division titles and four Super Bowl appearances.”

Belichick’s contract and salary have been a well-guarded secret over the years. The last time we heard talk about it was back in 2007, when it was reported the coach and franchise agreed to an extension that would keep him with the franchise through at least the 2013 season, according to ESPN. And earlier that year, Belichick made a brief mention about his contract situation.

“I don’t talk about contracts, but I would say I like working here, I like the organization — ownership, coaches, scouts, players, and the guys I work with,” he said in July 2007. “I appreciate the opportunity to work here, and it’s a good situation. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Belichick is the highest-paid NFL coach on Forbes’ list — the only coach who makes more annually is Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose yearly salary is listed as $10.3 million. (Reportedly, Jackson has been asked to take a pay cut after this season.) Other NFL coaches who made the list include Washington’s Mike Shanahan and Seattle’s Pete Carroll (tied for third overall at $7 million a year) and Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher (ninth at $5.75 million annually). In addition, Celtics coach Doc Rivers is 10th overall at $5.5 million a year.

The story does take note of the fact that when it comes to coaching in the NFL, there has been a lot of turnover — and lots of big new contracts — as of late. Forbes says that’s an indication of “confidence in an improving sports economy.”

“To the extent that coaching offers serve as a barometer of confidence in an improving sports economy, some recent NFL moves are certainly encouraging,” writes Tom Van Riper. “Following a period in which several highly paid veterans (Shanahan, Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren) walked away or were let go, replaced by younger, cheaper coaches, spending is picking up in some quarters. After a year off following his dismissal by the Broncos, Shanahan was handed a five-year, $35 million deal by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, complete with control over the football operation, with marching orders to turn around the franchise.”

Here are a few Patriots-related notes for a rainy Sunday afternoon:

•It’s been covered a little previously, but the NFL Player Development Department has now officially awarded the Patriots with this year’s Outstanding Overall Player Development Award. At the annual meetings last week, awards were given to the NFL Player Development departments in the areas of financial education, continuing education, career development and life skills, with the Outstanding Overall Player Development Award honoring the club that excels in programming in all four areas of player development.

In addition to their financial education, the NFL Player Development Department identified a few of the Patriots’ recent initiatives as strengths of the program, including a safe boating program that was designed to raise awareness of risks after the boating tragedy that claimed the lives of two NFL players in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The team was also credited with their creative implementation of life skills training sessions. Celtics coach Doc Rivers was a guest speaker at one of the sessions this year.

•The next time we stop by Ty Warren’s locker, we’re going to make it a point to ask him about his fishing expertise. It was called to our attention here that the defensive lineman set a Massachusetts mark this season when he landed a 61-pound, 3-ounce mahi-mahi dolphin fish at Vetch Canyon in August. (For more on his mark, check this out.)

•We know that Bill Belichick and Tony LaRussa are pals, and by the sounds of this account from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the two spent part of the day Saturday hanging out before the Cardinals-Astros game in Jupiter, Fla.