winning mentality

Will Bill Belichick’s Awkward Press Tour Sell Books?

Bill Belichick is committing his football wisdom to paper, but that's not what people are talking about

By Jonathan Zavaleta

Jonathan Zavaleta

Contact Jonathan Zavaleta by Email

View all posts by Jonathan Zavaleta

May 1, 2025

Add us as a Google Preferred Source

the art of winning book bill belichick

Simon & Schuster

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

If the point of a press tour is to generate headlines, then Bill Belichick’s recent promotion for his memoir, The Art of Winning, is a rousing success. The eight-time Super Bowl winner’s Sunday interview with CBS went viral after his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, shut down journalist Tony Dokoupil’s line of questioning about how the two met.

Hudson followed up the interview with a screenshot of an April 10 email sent by Belichick, decrying the media’s attention on the “negatives” in the book. The book, subtitled “Lessons from my Life in Football,” will be published on May 6 by Simon & Schuster. It’s currently in the top 20 on Amazon‘s biographies section, perhaps lending credence to the theory that any press is good press.

Bill Belichick Memoir 'The Art of Winning': What to Know

The Art of Winning

$24.50 $35.00 30% off

Buy Now On Amazon

Buy Now at bookshop.org

Buy Now at barnes & Noble

Belichick also released a statement following the interview, which read, “I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep that conversation centered on the book.”

More pertinently for football fans, Dokoupil questioned Belichick about the omission of Patriots CEO Robert Kraft from the memoir, despite Kraft hiring the coach in 2000. Belichick called leaving the Patriots a “mutual decision for us to part ways,” and Dokoupil responded, “He said ‘fired.'” Belichick then reiterates, “It was a mutual decision.”

In the January Instagram post announcing the book, Belichick wrote, “My life in football over the last 49+ years involved a lot of winning, losing, and more than anything: learning. I have learned from all of the teams I was apart [sic] of since early childhood, from my players, competitors, and colleagues in the NFL, and from coaches and players at UNC and the U.S. Naval Academy alongside my beloved father.

Trending Stories

Julia Stiles Honors Heath Ledger With ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Performance

Michael Gray, Star of ‘Shazam!,’ Dead at 75

Aaron Carter Estate Reaches Settlement With Walgreens Over Xanax Prescriptions

Fleetwood Mac Set Authorized Documentary Tied to ‘Rumours’ 50th Anniversary

“My hope with this book is that you learn about what I learned in the NFL about sustained success, leadership, and what it means to be a team player.” The book also prominently features a blurb from Tom Brady, who wrote, “Coach Belichick brought out the best in me. His book will do the same for you.”

Under Belichick, the Patriots won a record six Super Bowl championships, most recently at Super Bowl LIII in 2019. Belichick also won two Super Bowl titles as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants. Belichick left the Patriots in 2024 after 24 seasons and 333 wins to his name, second only to former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula’s 347 wins. Since leaving the NFL, Belichick joined the North Carolina Tar Heels as head coach.

In this article:

More News

Read more

Top stories newsletter

A Cultural Force That Transcends Generations

Enter your Email

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.