Watching the tears fall down Emmitt Smith’s face, Gil Brandt was reminded of a conversation he had with good friend Bill Belichick, a frequent visitor to the Walter Camp All-America in New Haven, Conn., where Smith was playing one summer.

The Patriots and defensive coordinator Dean Pees are parting ways, a team source told NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi on Thursday.

Championship coaches and players do not flinch at the thought of failure or injury. They don’t play the “what if” game, either. That’s what separates them from others. To play or not play his starters was never a dilemma for Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

The latest reports on the severity Wes Welker’s knee injury don’t appear positive for the New England Patriots.

While some may have found it odd that Patriots star QB Tom Brady played almost all of Sunday’s game against the Texans — save for the drives at the end of each half — the strategy was in fact arranged well before the game.

True to form, Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t revealing anything about how much his key players will play in Week 17 against the Texans.

Many would argue that the New England Patriots’ slide began that fateful Sunday vs. the Indianapolis Colts when Bill Belichick decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the end of the game, but his biggest mistake was sending four players home from practice last week — and alienating Randy Moss in the process.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady defended Randy Moss on Monday, one day after Panthers CBs Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall were critical of the receiver’s effort in New England’s 20-10 win Sunday.

One day after Adalius Thomas publicly questioned coach Bill Belichick’s decision to send four tardy Patriots players home, teammate Derrick Burgess took a different approach.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick sent four players home for being late to a morning meeting Wednesday, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Charlie Weis is looking for a job after he was fired by Notre Dame following five up-and-down seasons. And Weis sounds confident that he’ll return to the NFL.

After getting a chance to review the game tape, Bill Belichick hasn’t changed his opinion of the Patriots’ 38-17 loss to the Saints. In his eyes, the Saints were the better team, and it was obvious.

The New Orleans Saints’ 38-17 bludgeoning of New England left no doubt that things run through the Big Easy. The Saints might drop a game or two before all 16 are played, but against a team feared for its weapons and its rep, they had the fearless disposition, the defense, the coaches and the quarterback to illustrate they were better.

As the Boston Globe’s Adam Kilgore points out, Bill Belichick is 1 for 5 this season in challenges, including going 0 for 2 vs. the Jets Sunday. Belichick has not successfully challenged a play since Week 2 at the Jets.

Bill Belichick made the right call in going for it on fourth down and has three Super Bowl rings as justification for his decision.