Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick is the highest paid coach in America. (Bill Greene / Globe Staff) By Steve Silva, Globe Staff Bill Belichick is in a league of his own when it comes to getting paid. But Doc Rivers isn't far behind. According to Forbes magazine, the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots head coach makes more money than any other coach in America. Belichick's estimated salary of $7.5 million puts him at the top of the Forbes list. NFL coaches dominate the top 10, with eight representatives.

Bill Belichick is in a league of his own when it comes to getting paid. But Doc Rivers isn't far behind. According to Forbes magazine , the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots head coach makes more money than any other coach in America. Belichick's estimated salary of $7.5 million puts him at the top of the Forbes list. NFL coaches dominate the top 10, with eight representatives. The two other top-10 paid coaches come from the NBA: Celtics coach Doc Rivers ($7 million)

Usually, the Patriots treat first-round picks like they do the opening coin toss -- they always defer. This year they flipped their philosophy. Perhaps coach Bill Belichick was influenced by the last-minute loss in Super Bowl XLVI, or the winnowing window of his franchise quarterback, or having turned 60 earlier this month experienced the coaching equivalent of a mid-life crisis. But to borrow a slogan from the team that beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, Belichick went all in during round one of the 2012 NFL draft.

Bill Belichick is the highest paid coach in America. (Bill Greene / Globe Staff) By Steve Silva, Globe Staff Bill Belichick is in a league of his own when it comes to getting paid. But Doc Rivers isn't far behind. According to Forbes magazine, the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots head coach makes more money than any other coach in America. Belichick's estimated salary of $7.5 million puts him at the top of the Forbes list. NFL coaches dominate the top 10, with eight representatives.

INDIANAPOLIS — A boy needed a mentor. A cancer patient needed a hand. A baseball manager needed direction, and a football great needed an angel. They all needed a friend, and Bill Belichick was there. Not the Belichick of Patriots lore, the glowering titan of NFL coaches. The private Belichick. The guy who loves the Grateful Dead, reads Harry Potter, and happily reminisces with his pals about some of the best days of his life: growing up at the US Naval Academy, presiding over his college's Animal House fraternity, belting out the 1960s pop hit ‘‘Love Potion No. 9"...

Bill Belichick had positive things to say about his first-round draft picks during a Monday afternoon radio appearance. Visiting with SiriusXM NFL radio, Belichick said Chandler Jones, the team's first pick at 21st overall, is at his best on the outside of the defense and added Jones could get time at both defensive end and outside linebacker. "He's a perimeter player, a guy that lines up on the end of the line, whether you want to call him a linebacker or defensive end, but he's an end-of-the-line player," Belichick said.

FOXBOROUGH -- The biggest question following the release of safety James Sanders yesterday, hovered around the Patriots depth at safety. Without Sanders, the Patriots have Brandon Meriweather, Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown leading the group. The Patriots also have Josh Barrett and James Ihedigbo, but both have primarily been used on special teams. Yesterday, the Patriots also brought back safety Ross Ventrone. Bill Belichick said today he believes Barrett and Ihedigbo could earn more reps behind the primary safeties.

FOXBOROUGH - Help is coming for the Patriots' defense. And don't be surprised if more arrives in the form of a cornerback or two. Some of the help may not be of the immediate/impact variety fans crave, but this much is certain after Thursday's first round of the NFL draft: Bill Belichick has some shiny new toys to play with on defense, and that's a very good thing for the Patriots. The team nearly won the Super Bowl with a defense that ranked 31st in total yards and passing yards, 17th in rushing yards, 32d in first downs per game, and 28th on...

FOXBOROUGH -- Bill Belichick was chipper in his postgame interview following the Patriots 45-10 drubbing of the Denver Broncos in the AFC divisional playoff. The team put up a whopping 509 yards of offense and held the Broncos to 252 yards. But it was the center piece of his team, Tom Brady, that was the jewel of the game. Brady threw for 363 yards and six touchdowns, both franchise records, in leading the Patriots out in its fastest start of the year en route to the win. The Patriots scored their first touchdown 1:51 into the game.

FOXBOROUGH - When Justin Francis , one of the Patriots' seven undrafted rookies, signed with the team, he immediately had a built-in support system. The 6-foot-4-inch, 275-pound defensive lineman played with Devin McCourty and Alex Silvestro at Rutgers, and is also good friends with New England's newest coaching assistant, Steve Belichick . "Steve's been a great friend for me for quite some time," Francis said, noting that the two met in math class several years ago and struck up a quick friendship.

FOXBOROUGH - To hear Dont'a Hightower speak, it's easy to see why he did so well playing for Nick Saban at Alabama, and why he'll likely get along swimmingly with his new coach, Bill Belichick. The versatile linebacker, the second of the Patriots' two first-round picks in the draft, is all business when it comes to talking about football. It wasn't that he was gruff when he met with the media Friday before an on-field session at rookie minicamp, and he did crack a smile or two, but for the most part Hightower was matter-of-fact when talking about acclimating...

By Shalise Manza Young, Globe Staff Justin Francis, one of the Patriots' seven undrafted rookies, isn't walking into his new situation with the team blind. He's got several people here he can lean on for support. The 6-4, 275 pound defensive lineman from Rutgers played with Devin McCourty and Alex Silvestro, and is also good friends with New England's newest coaching assistant - Steve Belichick. "Steve's been a great friend for me for quite some time," Francis said, noting that the two met in math class several years ago and struck up a quick...

FOXBOROUGH - To hear Dont'a Hightower speak, it's easy to see why he did so well playing for Nick Saban at Alabama, and why he'll likely get along swimmingly with his new coach, Bill Belichick. The versatile linebacker, the second of the Patriots' two first-round picks in the draft, is all business when it comes to talking about football. It wasn't that he was gruff when he met with the media Friday before an on-field session at rookie minicamp, and he did crack a smile or two, but for the most part Hightower was matter-of-fact when talking about acclimating himself...

FOXBOROUGH -- Over the last several years, as his young assistants have risen through the ranks of the coaching staff, Bill Belichick has effectively made some of them prove that they have what it takes to get the title of coordinator. He did it with Josh McDaniels in McDaniels' first go-round with the Patriots. He called the offensive plays for a couple of years before officially being named coordinator. And when McDaniels left for Denver, Belichick did the same thing with Bill O'Brien.

By Shalise Manza Young, Globe Staff FOXBOROUGH -- Over the last several years, as his young assistants have risen through the ranks of the coaching staff, Bill Belichick has effectively made some of them prove that they have what it takes to get the title of coordinator. He did it with Josh McDaniels in McDaniels' first go-round with the Patriots when he was called the offense's plays for a couple of years before officially being named offensive coordinator. And when McDaniels left for Denver, Belichick did the same thing with Bill O'Brien.

Darrelle Revis still is upset with Bill Belichick. The All-Pro cornerback said Thursday that the way the Patriots coach "disrespects" the New York Jets is uncalled for and not professional. "When you make it personal, when you say things that are personal, why go there?" Revis said of derogatory comments he believes Belichick made last season, particularly after a 37-16 home loss to New England. "When you are talking about having a better defense, OK. But when you say they can suck … or whatever.