Having twins on a roster is all fun and games—until they swap jersey numbers. Most coaches depend on those digits to tell them apart, but Bill Belichick has never cared much for what’s printed on a player’s back. Speaking at North Carolina in 2025, long after his NFL heyday, Belichick reinforced the same message he’d preached for years: “The numbers and the gloves you wear is not as important as doing your job and being responsible and accountable to your teammates. Our focus is on the team.” In his world, identity isn’t something you wear—it’s something you earn.
No one put that belief to the test quite like the McCourty twins. Devin had been with the Patriots since the start of his NFL career, while Jason didn’t arrive until 2018 after stints with the Titans and Browns. But once reunited in New England, the brothers not only contributed to multiple Super Bowl runs—they also found plenty of joy in poking fun at their famously stoic coach. With Belichick insisting that jersey numbers weren’t necessary, the stage was set for some classic twin trickery.
During a guest appearance on the College GameDay podcast, when Rece Davis asked how he managed to recognize players at practice without numbers, Belichick doubled down on his stance. “Learn your teammates,” he said. “Yeah, learn your teammates. Learn who a receiver and a tight end is, learn who a linebacker and a safety is. Learn who they are. Learn their names. Learn them—a relationship—all of us: the coaches, the players. Like, you know, we don’t need numbers. We need to learn our teammates.”
It was a philosophy built on connection and accountability—but the McCourtys saw it as an opening for a prank. And they didn’t disappoint.
Belichick recalled how the twins would go out of their way to confuse him. “What killed me was guys like Jason and Devin McCourty. When I did that with them—identical twins—they would intentionally wear the same stuff. Exactly the same: cut off the same sleeve, the same socks, the same everything. There was no number on them. And then they would come up to me and say, ‘Which one am I, Coach?’ And it was really, it was really hard. Those guys killed me.”
But apparently, that wasn’t even the worst of it all.
Sometime in the past, long before Jason joined his brother, the two were caught at a Super Bowl together. Though Belichick didn’t reveal which Super Bowl it was, he did say how the McCourty twins tricked him. “The worst one was—we were at a Super Bowl on Saturday before the game, we were taking the team picture and all that. Jason walks by, but I thought it was Devin.” Knowing only that Devin was part of his Patriots team, Belichick had no clue about Jason’s presence. That led Jason and Devin to pull Belichick’s leg the night before the Super Bowl.
“I didn’t know Jason was there — Jason wasn’t on our team at that point. Jason walks by and says, ‘Hey Coach, I’m going to be late for the meeting tonight, I got to go do something.’ And I was just like, ‘Whoa, what are you talking about?’ And then Devin turns around and goes, “Yeah, but I’ll be at the meeting, don’t worry.’ Oh, they nailed me. Yeah, they nailed me,” Belichick added. Well, Belichick may have been a victim of the McCourty twins’ shenanigans. But if he had talked with their mother beforehand, maybe he would have easily debunked their pranks.
Mama McCourty shares tips on recognizing Devin and Jason
If anyone could have differentiated between Devin and Jason, it was their mother, Phyllis Harrell. Only she knew what made Devin and Jason different, despite their stark similarities. One of the first differences Mama McCourty once talked about was their birthmarks. J-Mac apparently has one on the side of his neck. Meanwhile, Devin’s is on one of his ears. Other than searching for birthmarks, you can always recognise Devin and Jason through their eating habits.
At breakfast, Devin is said to always prefer Bacon. Then, if someone is reaching for the sausage first, it’s Jason. Moving on from breakfast to snacks. Mama McCourty once told the Patriots that if someone is snacking on Chips Ahoy Candy Blast cookies, then it’s definitely Jason. And if one of the twins is trying to get Linden’s chocolate chip cookies, it’s Devin. So, those were some tips to recognize Jason and Devin. However, on the field, it was always hard for anyone to know which one was Jason or Devin. That’s where Belichick struggled.
He spent more time with the brothers on the gridiron rather than at a breakfast buffet. It is clear how the McCourty brothers capitalized on this fact and had their fun while doing so.
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