By Jon Lyons
NEFJ Correspondent
Bill Belichick is no longer the head coach of the Patriots. All good things come to an end, but that first sentence still seems surreal. 296 wins as Patriots head coach. 30 playoff wins. Six Super Bowl championships. The greatest tenure of a head coach in NFL history is over and, despite the legitimate reasons for this ending, it should be met with gratitude and not glee.
Prior to Belichick’s arrival, the Patriots were a franchise that would have a strong season or two each decade and found themselves as a bottom-feeder team more often than not. Belichick, along with Tom Brady, were the driving forces behind not only raising banners in Foxborough, but transforming the Patriots into the gold-standard NFL franchise. Year in and year out the Patriots were ahead of the NFL curve; whether it was salary cap management, roster construction, or schematically.
It was Belichick who made the greatest coaching decision in the history of the NFL: sticking with Tom Brady as starter over Drew Bledsoe in 2001. It seems like an easy decision two decades later, but at the time it was extremely controversial. It was Belichick who helped revolutionize NFL offenses in 2007 by trading for Wes Welker and Randy Moss to pair with Tom Brady and run a shotgun based passing attack. He did it again in 2010, when the offense morphed into a two tight end operation. And again, in 2018, when the Patriots adjusted their offense late in the season to a more power-based attack, which helped propel them to their sixth championship.
But, of course, Belichick’s hallmark was his defense. His defenses were perennially among the top tier in the league and often elevated in the postseason. His Super Bowl XXXVI gameplan remains one of the best in league history; keying on Marshall Faulk and totally flummoxing the Greatest Show On Turf. The 2003 and 2004 Patriots defenses were elite units that shutdown another great offense: the Peyton Manning led Colts. In two playoff games against the Colts during that span, New England allowed a total of 17 points. There was the Malcolm Butler play that will live in sports history. The Dont’a Hightower strip sack of Matt Ryan and the Trey Flowers late sack on Ryan in Super Bowl LI. Or holding the 2018 Rams to three points in a Super Bowl. All of it due in large part to Belichick’s coaching and game planning.
Belichick always put a heavy emphasis on special teams, and for the first two decades in New England, the Patriots special teams was the best in the league and often made a difference in them winning or losing. Think back: how many times in a key spot did the Patriots get beat on special teams? Almost never.
The program he built will also never be matched. There are a myriad of Hall of Fame players that he either drafted, signed, traded for, or helped develop. I know Patriots fans have lamented the past few seasons of drafting (myself included), but the totality of the roster construction over his tenure was elite. Belichick also worked alongside many elite assistant coaches, some of whom went on to further success outside the organization.
On a personal level, I spent eight seasons coaching college football. There were two people who inspired me to coach: my dad and Belichick.
Everything ends. Bill Belichick had the greatest coaching tenure in NFL history and one of the greatest in all of sports history. It is over now and there will never be anything like it again. The success he brought to New England is unparalleled and the strongest emotion today should be gratitude. I know I’ll always be grateful.