Thorough Halberstam checks under the hood

Bill Belichick is a unique television presence, his signature gray sweatshirt familiar to any NFL fan.

However, only a handful of the expected 20 million who tuned in to last night's Colts-Patriots game really know Belichick, a private man in a public profession. When he puts the hood up on that sweatshirt, he looks a little like a monk, somehow transported from a cloistered order and plunked down on the sideline.

That description isn't far off the mark, according to longtime members of an inner circle to which redoubtable author David Halberstam was admitted over the past year and a half during the research and writing of his book, ''The Education of a Coach," which arrived in bookstores last week.

''He is what he is," said Halberstam, using a Belichickian turn of phrase. ''He's smart, straightforward, honorable, and unadorned. He's not a man for the media age, which is amazing when TV catapults him into our living rooms and millions feel they know him. He's got a signature face, but you know he'd rather be behind a mask."

Halberstam's admittance into the inner circle has resulted in a must-read for not only Patriots fans but any reader of biographies. It is a collaboration of two formidable intellects, each of whom is able to focus his mental capacities at full wattage on a single subject.

''At its core, the book is the examination of one man's intelligence and the application of it," said Halberstam. ''There are a lot of smart people who spend all their time spinning their wheels. It was because of his father that Bill learned he can pragmatically have such a singular concentration on football."

Halberstam, a lifelong New York Giants fan, was intrigued by Belichick because he was so ''uncoachlike" and by the way his defenses ''put a signature on the game. Whatever the opponent did well in the first half the defense would take away in the second."

Once the book proposal was out there, Halberstam and his wife invited the Belichicks to dinner on Nantucket in spring of 2004.

''My wife is a tremendous cook," said Halberstam, ''but she said, 'I've never cooked for a football coach before.' I told her it would be a normal night and they'd be home by 10. Instead, they stayed until after midnight and we talked about everything but football, including the challenge of bringing up children when you're a well-known parent."

Belichick didn't seem the ideal subject nor Halberstam the ideal author for an ''as told to" book; however, the ''education of a coach" approach seemed to work.

''I think his decision to cooperate was because he felt it would be an homage to his father, a coaching lifer and the best scout of his era," said Halberstam.

Their first long interview session was a revelation to Halberstam.

''Bill isn't a natural storyteller," he said, ''but he's a natural teacher. He must have gone to the chalkboard nine times that day."

Getting behind what Halberstam calls Belichick's ''permanent game face" would be the real challenge.

''Bill makes it a point of honor to reveal as little as possible about himself," said Halberstam. ''If he laughs or smiles in public, he gives something away. And anything you give away can be an edge."

Though they agreed to do the book in June 2004, demands on Belichick's time caused them to pull back until this spring.

''The publisher's deadline was July 1 if the book was to be on the shelves this season," said Halberstam. ''Normally, I'll write 1,200-1,500 words a day. This time it was more than double that, 3,000-3,500. And it worked. More time wouldn't have made the final version any better."

The reason? Belichick. ''Bill not only cooperated, but he also sent some sort of signal that helped with his subordinates," said Halberstam. ''The wind truly was at my back on this project. [Longtime Belichick confidant] Ernie Adams is a walking computer. He could have worked for the Pentagon. And Scott Pioli [vice president of player personnel] was able to educate me to many parts of the game. Bill's parents, Steve and Jeanette, were welcoming. Visiting them was like watching a TV routine they'd been perfecting over 50 years."

At the end of the project, Halberstam considered himself -- cautiously -- a friend.

''This fall, Bill was on Nantucket to close up the house," said Halberstam. ''The fishing was great -- one of those magic days when all three of us on the boat had stripers on the line at the same time.

''I asked Bill to come with us. It was the first time I realized our relationship could just be friendship. 'I'll think about it,' he said. Then he called back and I could hear the regret in his voice when he said couldn't come. 'I've got to close the house,' " he said.

Duty, as always, called.

Tie game

Bruins-Penguins (NESN) and Celtics-Bobcats (FSN) went head-to-head Saturday night, and not only did each return a 1.7 rating, they also matched numbers across the male demographics, doing a 1.7 among males 18-plus and a 2.1 among males 25-54 . . . Mike Baker, executive producer for NHL telecasts on OLN, says local viewers should see big improvements when they tune in for tonight's Bruins-Flyers telecast (7 p.m.). OLN has eliminated some of the relays, a change that has helped clean up the video and audio. In addition, tonight is an added high-definition game, with several extra cameras. Kenny Albert is on play-by-play, with analyst Brian Engblom and reporter Bob Harwood. Baker is hoping Harwood can break some ground with a between-periods interview with one of the goalies, heretofore considered a no-no on par with talking with a starting pitcher between innings.

Back to work

It's a short week for the Patriots, who play at Miami Sunday (Channel 4, 1 p.m.) with the No. 1 CBS team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms back covering them. Fox has a Sunday doubleheader: Vikings-Giants (Channel 25, 1 p.m.) followed by Redskins-Buccaneers . . . Saturday's Boston College-North Carolina State game will be on ESPN2 at 7:15 p.m. . . . The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy and Mike Reiss join host Bob Neumeier to recap last night's Patriots game on tomorrow's ''Sports Plus" (NESN, 6 and 10:30 p.m.). NESN's Tom Caron chips in with a one-on-one interview with new Hall of Famer Cam Neely . . . The NHL has reached an agreement to distribute video and data over ESPN's ''new media" assets, including ESPN.com and Mobile ESPN, the soon-to-launch mobile phone service . . . NESN's ''Red Sox Now," a weekly half-hour offseason show, makes its debut tomorrow at 7 p.m. Sox studio host Caron will anchor. As usual, there's no shortage of topics. Bill Griffith's e-mail address is griffith@globe.com.