Bill Belichick Hates the NFL’s Microsoft Surface Tablets: ‘I’m Done’

Photo via AP

Bill Belichick isn’t a fan of more than a few things: losing, sleeves, the Jets’ front office, tardiness, smiling. The list goes on and on, and now includes Microsoft Surface tablets, after the curmudgeonly Patriots coach was seen slamming the device on the sidelines during a Week 4 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

“As you probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets,” Belichick told reporters this week. “They’re just too undependable for me. I’m going to stick with pictures, which several of our other coaches do, as well, because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets. I just can’t take it anymore.”

Belichick’s answer was an uncharacteristically verbose one, clocking in at nearly five and a half minutes by one estimate.

“I would just say there are problems in every game. There were problems last week, but there were problems the week before that, too. Some are worse that others. Sometimes both teams have them, sometimes one team has them and the other team doesn’t have them,” Belichick said. “It was a problem last week. It’s basically a problem every week.”

Microsoft issued a statement in response to Belichick’s rant Tuesday, standing by the dependability of their product.

“We respect Coach Belichick’s decision, but stand behind the reliability of Surface,” the tech giant said. “We continue to receive positive feedback on having Surface devices on the sidelines from coaches, players and team personnel across the league. In the instances where sideline issues are reported in NFL games, we work closely with the NFL to quickly address and resolve.”

Unsurprisingly, rushing to the defense of its sponsor was the NFL, still in the midst of a five-year, $400 million marketing deal with Microsoft to promote its Surface tablets on the sidelines and on broadcasts.

“Since Microsoft has been a partner of the NFL and implemented their technology on our sidelines, the efficiency and speed of communication between coaches has increased,” the NFL said in a statement. “As with any technology, there are multiple factors that can cause issues within our sideline communications system either related to or outside of Microsoft’s technology. We continue to work with all of our partners to ensure the best systems are in place to give our clubs the greatest chance of success on a weekly basis.”