If you’ve ever watched Bill Belichick on the sideline during a Patriots game, you may have noticed that he rarely yells at his players. 

Sure, he’ll yell at the refs, and, yes, you can definitely tell when he’s upset with his players because he gives them the classic Belichick scowl. 

So what does a player have to do to get yelled at in New England?

Tom Brady answered that question during an interview with Pro Football Talk this week. 

“He has a pretty high level of expectation for us,” Brady told Mike Florio. “He doesn’t yell a lot, so when he does, you know you’ve done something that’s really bothered him.”

OK, Tom, but what actually irks Belichick?

“I think what really sets him off, is just, I would say, is a lack of focus or a lack of execution,” Brady said. 

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Lack of player focus really bothers Bill Belichick. USATSI

I’m guessing that’s an answer that no one will find surprising. Belichick will yell at his players when they’re not focusing or when they’re not executing their plays. 

“When you’re a coach, you work your tail off to put your players in a position to succeed and then the players have a chance to go out there and do it,” Brady said. “And then if you go out there and (fail), it’s pretty bad. He’ll come in and he’ll let us know when we do that. 

The conversation about Belichick actually started when Florio asked Brady about a story told by Chad Johnson earlier this year. During an interview, Johnson explained that things got crazy at the first meeting he ever attended as a Patriot because Belichick chewed out Brady. 

Johnson thought it was kind of crazy that the coach was chewing out the team’s star player. 

According to Brady, he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I understand, that comes with him,” Brady said of being yelled at. “All the times he does that to me, they’re very much deserved. He’s trying to get me to reach a high level as a player. I don’t take it personal. You always want to prove your coach wrong when he criticizes you, so I think that’s a good motivator to go back out on the field and try and get to a higher level.”

Basically, it sounds like Belichick treats everyone as an equal on the field, which is probably a big reason why the Patriots’ team culture breeds so much success.