Bill Belichick famously does not appear in the Madden franchise. This is because EA's licensing agreement for the likeness of coaches is with the National Football League Coaches Association. Belichick is not a member of the NFLCA and has not independently given his permission to EA to use his likeness. However, someone needs to coach the Patriots, especially if you the player aren't going to. This has led the developer to create an annual stand-in for the veteran head coach. Previous versions have included Chad Masters, Griffin Murphy, and Josh Moore. Oftentimes, the in-game portrait of fake Belichick was modeled on EA VP Roy Harvey.
However, Madden 24, which will hit general release on August 18, features a new fake Belichick. Peter Gaffney is a balding man with a rough beard and glasses. He looks like the obsessive toy collector who lowkey kidnaps Woody in Toy Story 2. Meanwhile, SB Nation's list of 42 things that Gaffney looks like includes "He looks like he has a Twitter, but doesn’t have his name on it, and he comments under women’s sports posts with “not a real sport” and "Pete Gaffney owns a two-handed longsword and has been arrested for using it at his nephew’s 6th birthday party. The children were terrified."
Read More: Bill Belichick weighs in on Barbie and Oppenheimer
Social Media Rejoices At The Arrival Of Fake Belichick
What's truly amazing about Fake Belichick is that EA has seemingly resolved to never make him look even vaguely like the real Bill Belichick. There is no Bill Belichick in the Madden universe, only Peter Gaffney. And of course, social media was absolutely here to welcome Peter Gaffney to the much-vaunted position of NFL head coach.
Of course, perhaps Gaffney is the spark the Patriots need this year. New England was 20th in passing yards, and 16th in total touchdowns last season. The Patriots have attempted to remedy this offensive malaise with the signings of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki. While they didn't address offensive skill positions until the sixth round of the draft, it will be intriguing to see what Gaffney can do with this new look team as Mac Jones likely fights to keep his starting spot.
Read More: Bill Belichick made a draft day trade purely to mess with the Jets
Best Reactions To Peter Gaffney
What do you think of Peter Gaffney? Let us know in the comments.
[via]
