Alkass Digital
It might be Bill Belichick final game with the New England Patriots, and his final game in the NFL as a whole.
Gary Myers, an author who was the longtime NFL columnist for the New York Daily News, thinks Belichick plans to keep coaching – somewhere else if not New England – because he wants to top Don Shula’s NFL record of 328 regular-season victories as head coach. And, Myers added, Belichick definitely wants to win a Super Bowl without Tom Brady at quarterback.
“Will it be in New England?” Myers said. “It doesn’t look that way, but nothing would surprise me. Perhaps Kraft will give him an opportunity to present his plan to fix things before a decision is made.”
During his almost half-century in the sport, the 71-year-old has brought about the greatest dynasty in the NFL’s long history, as well as the development of some of its most iconic players; Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork and Logan Mankins all began their careers with him at the Patriots and became some of the greatest to ever grace the game.
After being a standout athlete at both the high school and college levels, Bill Belichick began his long and winding coaching journey with the Baltimore Colts in the NFL as a 23-year-old in 1975.
He quickly rose through the ranks, being named special assistant to head coach Ted Marchibroda before moving on to the Lions as an assistant special teams coach the following year. A mere 12 months later, he was given his first positional coaching assignment as Detroit’s tight ends and receivers coach before being hired by the Denver Broncos in 1978 as the assistant special teams coach and assistant to defensive coordinator Joe Collier.
In 1979, Belichick was hired as a defensive assistant and special teams coach for the New York Giants before being promoted to defensive coordinator – tasked with organizing the defense as a whole – by head coach Bill Parcells in 1985.
The relationship between the two – later coined ‘The Two Bills’ in an ESPN ’30 for 30’ special released in 2018 – became a seminal moment in the history of the NFL, with Belichick’s defense being a key building block in two Super Bowl victories in 1986 and 1990.
The second title earned him his first NFL head coaching role, where he took over the Cleveland Browns in February 1991 at the mere age of 38 – the NFL’s youngest head coach at the time.
Belichick is the only head coach in NFL history to win six Super Bowl titles. He ranks second all-time with 333 total victories as a head coach. His 31 career playoff wins are the most all-time among head coaches.
With rumors circulating that his time with the Patriots might be coming to an end, it potentially marks the end of an era of unparalleled success in Massachusetts and the turning of a new page.