Legendary coach Bill Belichick says Patriots 'not resting on our past laurels'

Longtime New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is famous for his intense focus on the here and now. So it was surprising, to say the least, when he told reporters at the NFL's annual meeting this week that the reason Patriots fans should be optimistic about the team this season was "the last 25 years."

The seemingly out-of-character comment set off a wave of criticism, so much so that Belichick felt the need to issue a clarification two days later.

"We're not resting on our past laurels; that's not the message to the team or the fans," Belichick told the Boston Globe on Wednesday while attending LSU's pro day.

To be fair, Belichick has perhaps the greatest resume of any NFL coach head coach: Nine AFC championships, a record six Super Bowl titles and 298 regular-season wins (third all time behind only Don Shula and George Halas).

However, the Patriots were 8-9 last season and have a number of question marks on this year's roster as former players Devin McCourty and Tedy Bruschi pointed out in the wake of Belichick's comment.

"Maybe he needs to refocus just a little bit, because that is an answer that I have never heard come out of his mouth," Bruschi said on ESPN. "And for him to say that, I am shocked that that would be his answer."

And for one rare moment, Belichick had to take a step back before moving forward.

"We have never operated that way and aren't now," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Belichick assures fans Patriots are 'not resting on past laurels'