Bill Belichick’s legacy is complicated but his greatness is cemented

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

Bill Belichick’s tenure with the New England Patriots has hit its expiration date. 

After 24 mostly wonderful seasons, it didn’t end well.

Belichick remains the greatest coach of all time and arguably the greatest general manager of all time, even after falling into this patch of ugliness. And my goodness, has it been ugly. He is 29-38 since the departure of Tom Brady. So many of the qualities that fueled Belichick’s success have backfired, coming to a head in his exit, with owner Robert Kraft and Belichick agreeing to a parting of ways. 

I’ll get to all that. But first, let’s talk about what Belichick has cemented in his tenure with the Patriots: his greatness.

He has won 302 regular-season games and an NFL-record 31 postseason games, including six Super Bowl victories, the most by any coach. He was the master of the postseason, with the most Super Bowl appearances as a head coach (9), and the master of the regular season, with the most divisional championships (17).

“I think he’s an incredible coach. He’s the best coach, in my belief, in the history of the game,” said Tom Brady, the greatest player in the history of the game.

What makes Belichick so great? He blended an unwavering philosophy that included a rare willingness to change. In other words, Belichick never changed and always changed. He has always been demanding, has always taught the fundamentals of the game in the same way and has always emphasized immense preparation. But the game is always changing and evolving. And to get to year 24, Belichick understood that he’d have to adapt his scheme and his types of players to accommodate the league-wide shifts — and get ahead of them. 

The NFL is a copycat league. And for many decades, other teams copied Belichick. All of them. And not just his defenses. Belichick’s offense, defense and special teams units did things that everyone raved about and, when possible, attempted…

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Publish date : 2024-01-11 13:10:17

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