"I will like to marry (Tom) Brady," she said. "What do you think about that?"
"Better talk to Brady," said Belichick.
She pressed the issue: "Don't you think I am better than Gisele (Bundchen, a model and Brady's girlfriend)?"
Belichick barely took a second to provide an answer that trumped her question.
"I wouldn't go that far," he said.
On the field or at the circus, think twice before you try to outwit the coach who has earned his Genius Bill label.
It's a season that began with the accidental and emotional death of defensive end Marquise Hill, continuing through the condemnation of Spygate, the scrutiny of an undefeated streak, the battery accusation against Randy Moss and Brady's injured right ankle.
Behind it all stands Belichick, architect, conductor, coach and in the past week, comic straight man.
If the Patriots beat the New York Giants tonight, Belichick will be hailed as football's greatest coach. But who would have thought this bland stoic would have mounted a charm offensive, opening himself up. Not that he wears his smiles or his expensive suits comfortably.
After landing in Phoenix with his team, Belichick talked of the sendoff from Gillette Stadium back in Massachusetts. He described a romantic setting, with snow falling and a crowd of fans filling the lower bowl of the stadium. Romantic? No one had heard him use the word.
He refuses to say he is smelling the roses.
"Of course it is an important game. It's the world championship. It's the Super Bowl. I've coached in other ones. Those were important, too. At that time they seemed like the most important.
"Maybe at some time there will be a time to reflect and look back on it, but right now there is no game more important than this game against the New York Giants. It's number one on the hit parade."
Most people are not one-dimensional and neither is Belichick. It's just that he controls what you see or don't see of Bill Belichick better than other public figures. His players don't say the private Belichick is the opposite of the public one. But he is at least a little different.
Football is a physical and demanding game. Belichick believes it can be played best by men who are physical and demanding of themselves.
"He doesn't accept any excuses," said offensive tackle Matt Light. "He tells it to you like it is. You have to have a thick skin at times. He's going to demand everything out of you. In turn, he's going to give you everything he's got."
Belichick acknowledges the sacrifices he asks because he can point to the rewards.
"He's a perfectionist, a realist," said defensive lineman Ty Warren. "He's a guy that believes in no stone unturned. He doesn't give any special treatment to any one player, no matter what their so-called status is on this team. He doesn't believe in entitlement. If you do your job, you get a pat on the back."
Lately, Belichick has talked of the privilege it's been to coach this team. He means it.
He is the head coach on the sideline in the drab, gray hoodie, the sweat shirt that's become one of the fastest-selling items in the Patriots' souvenir store at Foxborough, Mass. He is the coach who seems to drag his words from the pit of his stomach when he's displeased.
He is hard to like, if easy to respect.
Want the Tony Dungy model? You'll get the wonderful human being who is so visibly spiritual. His Colts won the Super Bowl last year, but how many times have they failed in the big games?
Want the Bill Cowher model? The let's-sit-at-the-bar-for-a- beer tough guy with the obviously soft heart?...
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