Do You Hate Brian Billick?

I've dealt with Billick not irregularly since he came to Baltimore, and I like him.

WIth some guys, you meet them once or twice and they seem o.k., but the more you get to know them, the less likable they are. I think Billick is kind of the opposite. Meet him once or twice and he comes off as very arrogant and convinced he's the smartest guy in the room. Talk to him regularly and you realize that he's funny and knows he's full of shit (though he still believes he's smarter than everyone else).

I've also never seen him bully or insult a reporter; he's respectful to everyone, which is a lot more than I can say about a lot of other NFL head coaches who aren't the subjects of threads about meriting sportswriters' hatred. I do remain baffled by how terrible his offenses are. The Ravens' gameplan vs. Indy in the playoffs was a disaster.

 

I dealt with him twice while covering another NFL team for a small-town paper.

He had absolutely no reason to go out of his way for me, but both times, he was nothing but great. Gave me more time than I needed and insightful stuff.

Not saying people don't have legitimate gripes with him, but I was impressed that he made more-than-expected effort for Wild Billy of the Daily Bumblefuckian.

 

I met him in a non-sports capacity once and thought he was great. Once of the few coaches I've ever heard of with a journalism degree.

 

If you're going to be mad at Brian Billick for his 2001 Super Bowl tirade, then you're likely going to be downright pissed off at Chad Pennington for his know-it-all tirade about the media a few years back.

The way I see it, as long as he keeps talking to the media, he can say whatever he wants. I have more animosity for people like Barry Bonds, who I hope gets beaned before he hits No. 754.

 

I don't deal with Billick on a regular basis, but every time I've spoken with him, he's been as nice as he could be -- and a great freaking quote.

 

Billick is a former journalism professor, right? Of course he's a prick. I think he's a terrific quote and a pretty decent head coach, too. His biggest flaw has been an inability to develop a decent quarterback; other than Boller, Baltimore's drafts and player development have been incredible, and he deserves some credit for that.

 

Here's what I don't understand. Why would any of us in this business "hate" a coach because we think he's a prick.
I have never met Brain Billick, so why could I even imagine hating him? I have heard and read about him being a condescending prcik. Does that mean the people who have to cover him should hate him?

 

Nothing wrong with that. At all.

 

I dislike Billick, but it mostly has to deal with what I believe to be his excusing of Ray Lewis' behavior. I have major issues with thugs.