Bill Belichick the last of his kind — and the best
Is Bill Red with a hoodie?
Or was Red Bill with a cigar?
We won’t sidetrack our just-incase tribute to Bill Belichick with the no-win argument debating whether or not Belichick or Red Auerbach is the greatest coach in Boston sports history.
Different times.
Different sports.
Different men.
Bill Belichick is unquestionably the greatest coach in the history of the Patriots.
Of course, that’s like winning the NFC South.
What is certain is that no head coach so successfully dominated the NFL for as long as Belichick.
Belichick built a 20+ year dynasty in New England upon the rock of Tom Brady in an age of free-agency and “parity.” And he made Brady possible.
A DNA check of Robert Kraft’s six Super Bowl rings show half are the spawn of Brady (38, 49, 51) and half of Belichick (36, 39, 53).
Each gave one away. For Brady it was Super Bowl 46, for Belichick it was Super Bowl 52.
Super Bowl 42 was a communal catastrophe.
Belichick’s record of achievement, his mastery of the game, his cheating — real and imagined, and command of the moment kept everyone guessing. Usually wrong.
He gave us “5D Chess vs. Candy Land.”
The son of a World War II veteran and long-time Navy assistant coach, Belichick was practically raised on the Annapolis campus of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Yet he became the most-successful, anti-NFL-establishment radical east of Al Davis.
It beautifully drove The Shield nuts. Multiple rules were changed because of strategic maneuverings executed by Belichick.
The Hoodie wrecked multiple franchises along the way, like the Jets, Colts and Chargers. And, like Brady, eventually the Patriots.
Belichick stole the soul of nearly every opposing coach, save for a few like Tom Coughlin, Doug Pederson and Mike McDaniel.
Just watch the clip of Rams coach Sean McVay fan-boying Belichick before Super Bowl 53. McVay stumbles over his words in meeting Belichick before The Big Game.
Belichick, meanwhile, later checks with lead referee John Parry about when and how long it will take for the oculus roof to close above Mercedes Benz Stadium. All in an effort to figure out in which direction the Patriots should kick off. If necessary.
That may be Belichick’s denouement of excellence since the Patriots have not won a postseason game since.
Belichick’s numbers as a head coach in New England are worthy of recitation.
6 Super Bowl rings
9 AFC Championships
17 AFC East hats & T-shirts
24 seasons
30 playoff victories
266 regular-season victories
Now here’s one you may not haven’t seen: 10% of his 120 regular-season losses with New England have come this season. An impressive number on both counts.
Speaking of losses, Belichick has as much incentive for these Patriots to win on Sunday as the future Patriots have for them to lose.
A Patriots loss to the Jets — their first in 16 tries against Gang Green — would clinch at-worst the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. A win could push New England all the way down to No. 5 on the draft board.
But a Patriots victory keeps Belichick from falling into a tie with Jeff Fisher and Dan Reeves for the most NFL regular-season losses ever at 165.
Two dozen years of allegedly doing “what’s best for the team” comes down one snowy Sunday in January against another team whose season ended weeks ago.
No. 3 Pick vs. Belichick Having The Most Losses Ever?
In true Hoodie form, we’d expect nothing less than BB gameplanning this one like it was Super Bowl 36.
Don Shula’s magic number of 347 victories (including the postseason) remains out of Belichick’s reach until at least next season. Belichick has 333. Shula’s mark was undoubtedly a reason that Kraft kept Belichick around despite the Patriots’ playoff famine and 29-37 post-Brady record. Belichick owns 305 NFL regularseason head coaching victories, 266 with New England.
The reality offered by the Patriots on and off the field post-Brady was caused in large part by Belichick’s actions (or inaction). There has been little room for praise. Belichick’s list of NFL achievements is so strong, so dynastic, so deep, so immense, however, that the failings of these recent years will be
quickly cleansed by time. After all, he owns a boat called “VIII Rings.”
Not all the greats exit atop the leaderboard.
Shula’s final game as a head coach was a 15-point Wild Card playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Brady’s last pass in a Patriots’ uniform was pick-six returned by Logan Ryan.
The final entry on QB Joe Montana’s NFL game log is a 2717 postseason setback as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Washington Wizards veteran Michael Jordan finished his career with 15 points in a 107-87 regular season defeat at Philly.
Bobby Orr took three shots on a pair of shot knees in a 1-0 loss to Vancouver before hanging it up for good — as a member of Chicago Blackhawks.
You get the point.
We thanked Brady in 28 different languages here when he retired from the NFL (for the first time).
Belichick has earned as much from the Patriots, his players, and fans.
His legacy, however, will mostly disappear when he does. His coaching tree resembles the one Charlie Brown brought home for Christmas (save for the Nick Saban ornament). Belichick has yet to re-sign any draft pick since 2013. His equal focus on defense and special teams at the expense of playmakers on offense has lost its place in an NFL that wants points, points and more points.
Belichick has never been one of a kind. From his own admission, he is his father’s son when it comes to football. He’s mirrored his NFL mentor Bill Parcells in so many ways
But he is undoubtedly the last of his kind.
And the best.