And now the end of the greatest era of NFL dominance is truly over. The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick have decided that after a poor 4-13 season, it was time to part ways and end the greatest dominance period in professional football post the merger.
The old guard of the NFL really is exiting stage right before our very eyes.
Despite being the longest active-tenured and arguably greatest head coach ever in the NFL, Bill Belichick has mutually agreed with his partner-in-winning Robert Kraft that it would be best for Bill to part ways as the Patriots head coach. And, even though Bill had a poor year this past season, it still really sad to see him go.
This was inevitable after the Pats 17-3 loss to the New York Jets in Week 18 to end the season 4-13, which is the worst Patriots record in 31 years, but seeing the legendary Bill Belichick leave One Patriot Way as the Pats head coach is still a sad sight.
It’s almost impossible for anyone who follows even a little bit of the NFL to not know of the massive news that transpired today, but for those who don’t know, Bill Belichick is out as the Patriots head coach. It was an amicable parting (which I’m more than glad that it is) according to all reports, Belichick, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, but the decision still stands. Bill Belichick is no longer the head coach of the New England Patriots.
It still feels weird just to write that sentence. Not to date myself as to how old I am, but Bill Belichick has been the head coach of the New England Patriots for longer than I can remember as he was hired the head coach of the Patriots before I was even born. This partnership has really predated two generations of humans born…which is just a crazy thing to think about given the fact that the average NFL head coach only stays on in the post for 3 years or so.
Anyway, I really don’t want to talk about the final four seasons of Belichick’s tenure in this article as everyone knows they didn’t go the way one would have hoped after Tom Brady left NE for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2020 offseason.
Why don’t I want to talk about it? Well, it’s for the simple fact that EVERY great NFL head coach tails off and has dreadful seasons prior to their eventual firing/retirement/moving on from the franchise they made their name famous from. If you don’t believe me, then just go look at the Top-10 winningest coaches in NFL history and see how their final few seasons went. I’ll save you the time and say it’s a pretty picture.
Anyway, back to Bill Belichick, I just want to point out how INSANE his accomplishments as the Patriots head coach really are.
In 24 seasons with the Patriots (which is the 5th longest tenure for one team in NFL history), Belichick won 16 AFC East division titles, 11 straight division titles from 2009-2019, he had 20 winning seasons, he is only one of two NFL head coaches (Don Shula being the other) to have gone undefeated in the regular season, he had 19 seasons of 10+ wins, he reached 13 AFC Conference Title games, he made 8 straight AFC Conference Title games from 2011-2018, he won 9 AFC crowns, he reached 9 Super Bowls (most in NFL history), he’s won 3 Coach of the Year awards, he’s won 6 Super Bowls (most in NFL history), he is the last head coach to have won back-to-back Super Bowls (2003, 2004), and he built a dynasty that lasted 19 years.
Whew, that’s a mouthful of accomplishments, and I didn’t even mention the fact that he’s coached 8 definitive/future Hall of Famers (Tom Brady, Richard Seymor, Junior Seau, Randy Moss, Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law, Darrelle Revis, Rob Gronkowski), AT LEAST 6 more “should-be” Hall of Famers (Vince Wilfork, Rodney Harrison, Logan Mankins, Cordelle Patterson, and Matthew Slater), and AT LEAST 2 “possible” Hall of Famers (Wes Welker, Stephone Gilmore).
That’s an incredible achievement in its own right, and even more special on top of the team and personal accolades I listed above.
But what I think what’s Bill Belichick’s greatest achievement in New England is not the Hall of Famers he coached and developed, the division titles and AFC championships, the winning seasons and Coach of the Year awards, and not even the Super Bowls, but rather what he was able to do with the scraps and leftovers of the league.
The Patriots were great not because they had legends like Tom Brady, Ty Law, Rob Gronkowski, Adam Vinatieri, Richard Seymor, Logan Mankins, Vince Wilfork, or Matthew Slater, but rather they had the ability to turn ever the most disgruntled, cast-off, and/or forgotten player into a bonified pro bowler and key team player.
Players like Malcolm Butler, Julian Edelman, James White, etc. were all forgotten, undrafted, and/or no-name players that turned into Super Bowl heroes and Patriots legends due to the system and coaching Bill Belichick implemented. That’s what “The Patriot Way” was, and it was founded based off the principles and legendary coaching talents of Bill Belichick and his staff.
And that’s what I hope people remember Belichick by the most as I know I will as Patriots fans. So, on behalf of all Patriots fans and NFL fans, I just want to say: thank you, Bill Belichick. Thank you for the 20 years of excellence in coaching the greatest dynasty of the modern NFL era. And I hope your next job (as Bill will be coaching again) will be as great as the time you spent in New England!
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