Belichick, Saban used to ‘sneak out' to concerts in Cleveland

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On Friday, as Bill Belichick and the Patriots got ready to play in Cleveland this weekend, one of Belichick's old assistants with the Browns took a trip down memory lane. 

Alabama coach and former Browns defensive coordinator Nick Saban joined the Dan Patrick Show where he reminisced about his time with Belichick and how the two of them -- both music fans -- used to head out to local shows together. 

"When Bill and I were together in Cleveland, he and I used to sneak out and go see various concerts," Saban told Patrick. "We went to see The Eagles, Joe Walsh, Ringo Starr. We'd just kind of sneak out and do it every now and then."

Better singer of the pair, Saban was asked? 

"I'm a terrible singer," he said, "so he's got me there."

It's interesting to hear about another side of Belichick, albeit briefly, especially after reading the oral history of Belichick's coaching life published by ESPN earlier this week. In parts of the piece, Belichick is painted as an insatiable workaholic -- one who pushed Saban to his limits. 

"Saban might be the greatest college coach ever, and I can honestly say in the last eight years at Alabama I have never once seen him tired," said Phil Savage, a Browns assistant under Belichick. "But in Cleveland, under Bill, he'd go slump down against a wall and stutter, 'I gotta get out of here, I can't function anymore.' Bill could outwork all of us."

But Belichick's lighter side also got its due in the ESPN story by David Fleming

"He's a real closet rock 'n' roll nut," said Rick Venuri, another Browns assistant at the time. "He traveled with the Rolling Stones for a few weeks through Europe one summer. Bon Jovi used to come to Cleveland and catch passes in practice. He had a suite in Cleveland and we all went to Pink Floyd together as a group. I didn't see him with his lighter out, but it wouldn't surprise me if I did."

"Bill knew what was going on with everything at every moment," said former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. "Unless Bon Jovi was there. Then he couldn't care less what was going on."

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