Belichick's 'A Funny Guy!' Cowboys Ex Ezekiel Elliott on Patriots Coach

“You know, he’s a great coach,” Cowboys ex Ezekiel Elliott says of Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “He’s a funny guy. He demands excellence of this team and he knows how to get it out of you.”

FRISCO - Throughout Bill Belichick's 23-year term with the New England Patriots, he's been called a lot of things. But leave it to the playful former Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott to contradict the coach's hardened reputation for stoicism.

“You know, he’s a great coach,” Elliott said in his first press conference with the Patriots. “He’s a funny guy. He demands excellence of this team and he knows how to get it out of you.”

Wait. Back up. Yes, he's a "great coach.'' Yes, he "demands excellence'' and "knows how to get it,'' and we bet that within the proper framework and the right expectations, he will help do that with Zeke, the two-time NFL rushing champ in Dallas who was cut by the Cowboys this offseason and who will play a supplementary role with New England.

But "funny''? Funny how, I mean, funny like a clown? To amuse you? Waddya mean “funny”? Funny how? How is he funny?''

Is it certainly conceivable that behind closed doors, there is a different side to Belichick, a more outgoing personality within. Right?

Elliott is just the latest player this offseason to praise Belichick's seldom-seen silly side. Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, another new acquisition, previously said he was caught off-guard by Belichick's playful demeanor. However, he also acknowledged that the coach can quickly shift back to his more serious side.

“The dude actually has a funny personality,” Smith-Schuster said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Like, of course, when you’re not on the team, you’re not in the building with him, it’s a lot different. Just being around him lately … he’s actually funny. He loves the jokes, he loves to play around.

“But there’s also a time where it’s time to be serious, time to turn it on and do your job. And that’s something that’s perceived different outside the locker room than being in the locker room.”

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