(Photo: The Ringer)
The World of Football has been buzzing these last few days, hasn’t it? First, it was announced that Pete Carroll won’t be returning as the Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He’s one of the few men to win a National Championship at the college level and a Super Bowl in the NFL. Then, we got the news that Nick Saban was retiring after 17 successful seasons in Tuscaloosa as the Head Coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Throughout the NFL’s regular season, we kept hearing about a possibility that this would be a legend’s final year roaming the sidelines for a particular team. I’m talking about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Since Tom Brady retired, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Patriots. They’ve missed the playoffs three times in the last four seasons and haven’t won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII (53) when they beat the Rams for their sixth Super Bowl title. The rumors have circulated and what we expected took place today. After 24 seasons in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Coach Belichick and the New England Patriots have parted ways and he is out as the Head Coach.
Bill is the greatest Head Coach I’ve had the pleasure of watching and analyzing. Robert Kraft hired him in 2000 and also gave him the title of General Manager giving him complete control over the football team’s operations. Bill is a disciple of Bill Parcells and prior to becoming a Head Coach himself, he made a name for himself as the Defensive Coordinator of the New York Giants and was responsible for coaching by far the greatest defensive player to play our game in Lawrence Taylor. His first year with the Patriots, they went 5-11 and missed the postseason. The following year, Drew Bledsoe signed a ten-year contract extension to remain with the team and then he gets hurt after taking a big hit from Mo Lewis. That injury would force a young man at the time named Tom Brady to start at Quarterback for the Patriots and the rest is history from there. What I always loved about Bill was how he always took a chance on the underdog. I’m talking about the guys that many teams overlooked. Tom is the perfect example of that. After all, he was a sixth round draft pick and look what he became. I also think about other players such as Julian Edelman, Rodney Harrison, Danny Amendola, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Laurence Maroney and so many others. Bill also had a knack for taking players who were labeled controversial and taking a chance on them. The one player that immediately comes to my mind is Randy Moss. I’ve seen many great seasons from the Patriots under Belichick, however, the most memorable was 2007. The Patriots revamped their receiving core to give Brady more weapons and they became the first team in NFL history to finish a regular season 16-0. He always had a way of building his teams to his preference and when it came to coaching, he was always using players to their calibers. The one thing Bill became known for as a Head Coach was taking away what it was the opponent did and nobody did it quite as well as he did.
People can bring up the recent years all they want too. “He’s nothing without Brady”, “We see who was more important to the dynasty”, “He’s washed up”. Just remember, at one time, you were once rooting for the man. Yes, the Patriots have struggled these last few years, but remember that without him, we don’t see one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the NFL. Bill leaves the Patriots with 333 wins as a Head Coach which is second all-time behind the great Don Shula. In 24 seasons, he recorded 21 winning seasons, won 17 division titles, nine AFC title game appearances which is the most all-time for a Head Coach and six Super Bowl titles. Does he want to continue coaching? There’s a possibility, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he also retired. He’s a lock to be a Hall of Famer. I’m grateful for the times where I got to break down the Patriots’ biggest games. Well done Coach and I wish you the best in your next chapter.
