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PHOENIX -- Friday morning's joint news conference with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was enjoyable, mainly because of the give-and-take and friendly banter between the two. Both dressed in suit and tie, they sat down for what was essentially a 30-minute discussion on Super Bowl XLIX, their teams and some personal anecdotes. The news conference began after both posed for pictures behind the Lombardi Trophy flanked by Patriots and Seahawks helmets.  Some of the highlights:
Belichick on his mother. When both coaches were asked about who from their immediate families will attend the game, Belichick detailed that he's expecting everyone except for his mother, Jeanette. "My 94-year-old mom won't be here. She's in Annapolis. I know she'll be yelling at the TV set the whole game, but I do miss that she won't be here." Coaching free agents. After Belichick answered a question by saying how he is indebted to Patriots owner Robert Kraft for giving up a first-round draft choice to bring him to New England, Carroll turned to him and said, "You got a first-rounder for you? I was barely a free agent. Maybe that's why Robert got me out of there after three years." To which Belichick replied, "I was a free agent after Cleveland." Laughter in the room. Carroll on how he has evolved since being fired. Reflecting on how he's a better coach since the time he was fired twice in the NFL (Jets, Patriots), Carroll cracked, "My therapist tells me I should always talk about it." That again drew laughter in the room, as Carroll showed a self-deprecating side as he recapped his coaching journey and what is important to him in building a program. Carroll described his New England tenure as the "testing" period for owner Robert Kraft, as he was hired at a time when Kraft wanted to build a relationship with a head coach, while referring to Belichick's time as the "proving" period. Carroll called the hiring of Belichick "one of the great moves in the history of the NFL." Keeping it simple on strategy questions. Asked what part of the game he thinks is critical to establish early in games, Belichick kept it simple. "What I'd like to establish," he said, "is the lead."
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