“I talked to Rob and congratulated him on his selection into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Well deserved.”
Bill Belichick led UNC to a win over UConn on Saturday. (AP Photo/David Dermer)
November 8, 2026 | 4:04 PM
2 minutes to read
Bill Belichick might be on to North Carolina.
But the legendary Patriots head coach reportedly made a detour back to Massachusetts on Saturday to celebrate with some of his former players.
According to MassLive’s Matt Vautour, Belichick was a surprise guest during a reunion dinner for the 2016 Patriots team at Davio’s Steakhouse at Patriot Place in Foxborough.
Plenty of Patriots greats were on hand for this weekend, as the organization honored the 10th anniversary of the 2016 New England team that erased the greatest deficit in Super Bowl history en route to the franchise’s fifth championship.
Rob Gronkowski was also inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday, while Tom Brady prepared to call his first game at Gillette Stadium since taking over as Fox Sports’ top color analyst during broadcasts in 2024.
Other former Patriots players and coaches on hand for the 2016 reunion event included Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, James White, Malcolm Butler, Stephen Gostkowski, David Andrews, Patrick Chung, Trey Flowers, Chris Hogan, Nate Solder, James Develin, Marcus Cannon, Ryan Allen, Nate Ebner, Dante Scarnecchia, Jabaal Sheard, Eric Rowe, Jordan Richards, Tyler Gaffney, Brandon King, Trevor Bates, Chase Farris, Woodrow Hamilton, Vincent Valentine, and DeAndrew White.
Belichick seemingly took advantage of the Tar Heels’ own schedule as well, as he coached UNC to a 38-21 win at UConn on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to the media on Friday ahead of his induction ceremony, Gronkowski praised Belichick for helping to mold him into one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.
“He played a tremendous role in who I am as a player. I really loved the way he challenged me,” Gronkowski said. “He’s the best football coach I’ve ever seen in my life, that I’ve ever been a part of as well.”
Gronkowski continued to salute Belichick during his Hall of Fame speech on Saturday in Foxborough.
“The greatest of all time, no question about it. … Thank you for doing whatever you felt necessary to get me to play at a high level,” Gronkowski said of Belichick. “Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to put our teams in the best possible situations. And thank you for drafting this so-called a-hole who would only talk about hot tubs on his pre-draft visits.”
While Belichick has largely remained mum about his former NFL team, he did dole out plenty of praise to Gronkowski for earning his red jacket from the Patriots.
“That’s nice of Rob to say that,” Belichick said of Gronkowski’s comments during UNC’s postgame presser. “I talked to Rob and congratulated him on his selection into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Well deserved. He was the best tight end in football during his time and one of the best of all time. I’m proud of Rob and what he’s accomplished.
“He came a long, long way from barely playing in college at Arizona, to where he ended up, which was an incredible credit to him, his work ethic, his toughness and his dependability. It’s a hard position to play, but he excelled at it. We wouldn’t have won as many games as we did without him, I can tell you that. He’s a big part of it. I love Rob.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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