No Microsoft Surface In Sight On The Patriots Sidelines After Coach Shuns The Device

The New England Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday without the help of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which Patriots Coach Bill Belichick swore off last week.

The tablet, which the legendary coach called "too undependable," is used by NFL teams on the sidelines for viewing photos. Teams can view images "up to seven times faster than the printed page," Microsoft said in a blog post Friday responding to Belichick's statements.

[Related Video: Here's The Surface Tablet The Patriots Coach Hates So Much]

Microsoft and the NFL have declined to answer questions about whether any attempts were made to address the issues reported by Belichick or to persuade him to try the Surface again.

Microsoft paid $400 million to the NFL in 2013 to put Surface tablets into the hands of coaches and players on the sidelines.

After saying he's had a string of issues with the technology, however, Belichick told reporters last Tuesday that he "just can't take it anymore" and is now "done with the tablets."

During the Patriots-Steelers game, Belichick could be seen looking at printed photos on the sidelines on several occasions.

After the Steelers punted to the Patriots, and the referees called an illegal formation penalty against the Steelers, Belichick could be seen flipping through paper printouts of photos—spurring the television commentators to note that Belichick had gone back to "old school" methods.

By contrast, during the same play, a Surface tablet could be seen in use on the Steelers sidelines.

Later, when the Steelers challenged a catch by Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Belichick could again be seen flipping through still photo printouts instead of viewing the images on the Surface. Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh Daniels could also be seen reviewing printed photos with players at various times during the game.

While Microsoft and the NFL have not offered a possible cause for issues reported by Belichick, Microsoft's blog called NFL games a "complex environment" for the technology.

"Each week a team of NFL IT staff rolls out the equipment – sets it up to each team’s specifications; connects network and communications; tests the systems; simulates games between the test cameras and the video directors to test the systems end-to-end; recharges devices; ensures appropriate protection from all sorts of extreme weather conditions; and helps the coaches and players get familiar with the set-up," the company wrote.

"It’s an ever-changing, fast-paced technical environment – truly one of the toughest IT jobs on one of the world’s biggest stages, with hundreds of millions of viewers watching," Microsoft wrote.

In January, Belichick said that issues with using the Surface were a "pretty common problem" and that "there's really nothing you can do." The comments followed a Surface outage—which the NFL attributed to network issues—during the Patriots' AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos.

Earlier this month, Belichick was caught on camera throwing his Surface after appearing to become frustrated while swiping on the tablet.

Last Tuesday, Belichick told reporters he has "tried to work through the process. But it just doesn't work for me, and that's because there's no consistency [to using a tablet]."

Situations like this involving a high-profile customer warrant that technology suppliers "move heaven and earth to make sure that person has a positive experience," Douglas Grosfield, the founder and CEO of Five Nines IT Solutions, a Kitchener, Ontario-based strategic service provider, told CRN last week. "Why wouldn’t you bring your expertise to bear as a provider or vendor, to make sure that a high-profile customer is shouting from the rooftops, 'Hey, I love this stuff'? That's a heck of a missed opportunity."

The incident comes just as Microsoft is rumored to be preparing the launch of one or more devices in the Surface line during an event Wednesday in New York.