Belichick: Brad Stevens will do ‘great job' in new Celtics role

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Bill Belichick may not know exactly what Brad Stevens is going through. But he knows about the role Stevens used to hold for the Celtics. And he knows about the role Stevens is about to take over for Celtics.

Not many people in town have that kind of perspective. Makes sense, then, that Belichick -- who has spoken several times over the years of his close relationship with Stevens -- was asked about what advice he might give his friend as he changes jobs.

"I have a ton of respect for Brad," Belichick said Friday. "He's a good friend. A great person. I think he's certainly added a lot to the Celtics and sports in Boston. Personally, he's a friend. He's helped me as well in our conversations in the time we've spent together. 

"Whatever the setup is over there, I'm sure he'll enhance it. The Celtics will continue to be a strong competitive team that, honestly, that they've pretty much always been. I'm sure Brad will do a great job in whatever capacity or role he's asked to perform or he chooses to perform in."

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Belichick wasn't always a front-office czar, of course. His coaching career began in the 1970s and he worked in a variety of roles for the Colts, Lions, Broncos and Giants before becoming defensive coordinator in New York. That led to him being named head coach of the Browns in the 1990s, when it's safe to assume his understanding of front-office duties in the NFL grew by leaps and bounds. 

Asked when he became more comfortable with the duties he's taken on in the front office over the course of his career -- since being hired by Robert Kraft in 2000, he's been both head coach and general manager -- Belichick explained that it's hard to be a head coach and not have a good understanding of what it means to be in the front office.

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"When you're part of a sport like Brad is or like I've been or like many others are, there are a lot of lines that run together there," he said. "You can't be the head coach and not be aware of contracts and acquisitions and things like that. 

"I don't know exactly how they're set up. Each situation's a little bit different. But Brad has enough experience in basketball, with the Celtics, and in the National Basketball Association, I'm sure he'll handle all the things that he'll need to handle."

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