No organization has more sustained success this century than the New England Patriots. And the Patriot Way, spearheaded by Bill Belichick's no-nonsense approach to everything from roster-building to game-day management, is responsible for this success. But the system has its detractors.
The most notable are Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks, members of the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, the team that outlasted the Patriots in February's title game.
"It's crazy that people haven't known this," Brooks said last week. "It's been this way for like a decade. You've seen -- Reggie Wayne did it. He retired. He went there [to the Patriots] for a training camp and retired. S--- is not fun there. I was under the same regime in Houston [with O'Brien]. I almost retired. S--- was miserable, every day. Every day."
Johnson added: "All these guys talking about 'I'll take the rings.' OK. You can have your rings. You can also have f------ 15 miserable years."
But Shea McClellin, who spent 2016 and 2017 in New England after playing his first four NFL seasons with the Bears, called his experiences on a Belichick-coached team "the best two years of my football career that I've had."
"I definitely think it starts from the top, Bill [Belichick] and Mr. Kraft, and then it just trickles down," McClellin told ESPN.com's Mike Reiss. "Then you have leaders like Tom [Brady] and Matt [Slater] and Dev [Devin McCourty] -- the captains. When you come in as a new guy or a young guy, and you see how laid-back and easy-going the captains are; they'll just come up and talk to you and genuinely want to know about how you're doing and how your life is. I think that's something that makes the chemistry and camaraderie that much better. When the older guys really care about you, it makes you want to play for them and for your teammates, and not just for yourself."
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McClellin, a first-round pick by the Bears in 2012, was released by the Patriots in March after missing all of the 2017 season. McClellin told ESPN.com he isn't officially retiring, but he's prepared to move on.
McClellin noted that it's hard for outsiders -- like Johnson and Brooks -- to weigh in on something they haven't gone through personally.
"I would say a lot of guys don't know what they're talking about, because they haven't experienced it," the linebacker explained. "When you have a winning culture, everyone is going to hate on it. That's what comes with it, it's the way it is. It's hard for someone who hasn't been in the situation to say, 'Oh, it's like this, it's like that.' It's a winning culture and you're going to get slander and hate -- that's just the way it is. From my standpoint, I absolutely enjoyed my time there -- from the coaches to the owners, players and trainers."
And while some detractors may not like the way the Patriots win, there are much worse things: Like always losing.
In case you're wondering, Bill Belichick was asked if it's important to make players feel like they're enjoying themselves.