© Jerry Lai | 2018 Jan 31
Another day, another Jimmy G story.
This one comes courtesy of Sports Illustrated’s Jenny Vrentas, who dropped another lengthy profile on Garoppolo Tuesday morning. The piece provides a number of interesting tidbits about Garoppolo’s relationship with former head coach Bill Belichick, including the fact that Belichick sent Garoppolo a congratulatory text after every 49ers win last season.
“Last December, following the trade, a sort of weekly ritual began:,” Vrentas writes. “After each of Garoppolo’s starts for the 49ers, he received a text from the coach who had traded him, congratulating him on another win.”
Previous reports have indicated that Belichick never wanted to trade Garoppolo, but had his hand forced by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, allegedly at the behest of Tom Brady. Vrentas isn’t able to confirm this, but does discuss how Belichick seemed to give Garoppolo special treatment when deciding where to move him.
One thing is for certain, though: The coach didn’t go through his normal process. Which is to say, he didn’t milk the asset for every last drop. The Browns, as has been widely reported, were willing to offer more for Garoppolo than what the 49ers exchanged. Was Belichick’s hand forced? Was he determined to place Garoppolo where he’d have the best chance of success?
“Bill really, really liked Jimmy,” says Denise. “Not like they were warm and fuzzy—but they both knew it was there.”
Many around the NFL believe the move came from Belichick’s respect for Kyle and Mike Shanahan (he and Mike had ascended the coaching ladder concurrently, and Mike defended him to the NFL during the Spygate scandal) and from his belief that Garoppolo would thrive under Kyle’s tutelage. And “if that is true,” says the elder Shanahan, “it’s the biggest compliment you could receive as a coach.”
After being traded, Garoppolo thrived in San Francisco, winning all of his five starts to close out the season, before earning the most expensive contract in NFL history, a five-year, $137.5 million deal, this offseason.