Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick
refer to caption
Belichick in October 2019
Personal information
Born: (1952-04-16) April 16, 1952 (age 71)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
High school:Annapolis
(Annapolis, Maryland)
College:Wesleyan
Career history
As a coach:
As an executive:
  • Cleveland Browns (1992–1995)
    De facto general manager
  • New England Patriots (2000–2023)
    De facto general manager
Career highlights and awards
As a head coach
As an executive
  • PFWA Executive of the Year (2021)
As an assistant coach
NFL records
  • Most Super Bowl wins: 8
  • Most Super Bowl wins as a head coach: 6
  • Most Super Bowl appearances: 12
  • Most Super Bowl appearances as a head coach: 9
  • Most playoff wins as a head coach: 31
  • Most playoff appearances as a head coach: 19 (tied)
  • Most divisional championships as a head coach: 17
Head coaching record
Regular season:302–165 (.647)
Postseason:31–13 (.705)
Career:333–178 (.652)
Coaching stats at PFR
Executive profile at PFR

William Stephen Belichick (/ˈbɛlɪɪk, ˈbɛlɪɛk/; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time,[1][2][3] he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for the record of eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator.[4] A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position.[5][6][7][8] During his tenure with the Patriots, he was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.[9]

Belichick is a descendant of the Bill Parcells coaching tree. He began his coaching career in 1975 as an assistant for the Baltimore Colts, and became the defensive coordinator for New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells by 1985. Parcells and Belichick won two Super Bowls together before Belichick left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991. He remained in Cleveland for five seasons but was fired following the team's 1995 season. He rejoined Parcells, first in New England where the team lost Super Bowl XXXI, and later with the New York Jets. After being named head coach of the Jets, Belichick resigned after only one day on the job to accept the head coaching job for the New England Patriots on January 27, 2000. In 24 seasons under Belichick, the Patriots won 17 AFC East division titles, made 13 appearances in the AFC Championship Game, and appeared in nine Super Bowls, with a record six wins. Overall, Belichick has won eight Super Bowl titles (the most of any individual in NFL history) and finished as runner-up four times from his combined time as an assistant and head coach.

At the time he left the Patriots, Belichick was the NFL's longest-tenured active head coach. He has the most playoff coaching wins all-time with 31 and ranks third in regular season coaching wins in the NFL with 302.[10] In addition, Belichick is in second place for combined regular season and postseason wins, and also second place for most regular season coaching wins with one franchise.[11] He is one of only three head coaches who have won six NFL titles.[12] He was named the AP NFL Coach of the Year for the 2003, 2007, and 2010 seasons. Belichick has also been selected to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, as well as the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and is the only active head coach on the latter team.

  1. ^ Rhoden, William C. (January 21, 2008). "Yes, Belichick Really Is a Genius". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  2. ^ McCarriston, Shanna (April 12, 2022). "Bill Belichick, Vince Lombardi tied as greatest coaches ever, survey of Americans finds". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Kerr, Jeff (April 16, 2021). "Bill Belichick by the numbers: As NFL legend turns 69, Patriots coach has opportunity to rewrite record books". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Greenberg, Neil (February 4, 2019). "The Belichick- and Brady-led Patriots have a case to be considered sports world's top dynasty". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. ^ Legwold, Jeff (October 14, 2020). "'A student of everything': What a 26-year-old Bill Belichick learned as a Broncos assistant". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  6. ^ D'Abate, Mike (November 26, 2021). "Student-Teaching: Patriots' Folk, Belichick 'Learning A Lot' From Each Other". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  7. ^ Smith, Michael David (September 18, 2021). "Bill Belichick offers 1,500-word discourse on long snappers, off the top of his head". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  8. ^ Reiss, Mike (June 17, 2018). "Bill Belichick's history lessons always made an impression". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Stone, Kevin (June 5, 2013). "Greatest Coaches in NFL History – 7. Bill Belichick: Attention to detail". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "Bill Belichick Passes Tom Landry On NFL's All-Time Wins List". CBS Boston. November 19, 2017. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  11. ^ Schwab, Frank (October 16, 2022). "NFL Winners and Losers: Bill Belichick keeps making history, now with an unlikely QB". AOL.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Reiss, Mike (February 4, 2019). "Bill Belichick joins George Halas, Curly Lambeau with six NFL titles". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.