When it comes to the discussion of who the greatest NFL coach of all time is, there are a few names that come to mind. However, the one that stands out among all of the greats is New England Patriots’ legend Bill Belichick.
Belichick is in his 23rd year as head coach of the New England Patriots and the level of success that he has found is rivaled by no one in football. The Patriots have made the postseason 18 times out of 22 seasons thus far, winning the AFC Championship nine times. He is 6-3 in Super Bowls, losing twice to the New York Giants and once to the Philadelphia Eagles.
His mettle has been tested in recent years as future Hall of Famer and the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, left in free agency to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Brady winning a Super Bowl in his first season away from Belichick put to rest any of the talks about him being only a system quarterback. If anything, Brady is the system.
Despite not having a Super Bowl without Brady, Belichick has still found a level of success. After going 7-9 in 2020 without him, the Patriots went 10-7 in 2021 and are 5-4 this season. Replacing Brady is a monumental task, but New England has done as solid of a job adapting to life after him as anyone could have expected.
Alas, some people believe that Belichick gets too much credit for the job that he has done. One of those people is former NFL running back, LeSean McCoy. While making an appearance on the Up & Adams show, McCoy had some harsh words for Belichick, as he doesn’t believe he is among the greatest coaches of all time.
“If you take away Tom Brady, do you know who he is? He’s under .500… I think he’s a good coach. All ‘The Greatest’ and ‘we’ve never seen anything like him’. That’s bullcrap.”
McCoy certainly has a strong take when it comes to Belichick and the Patriots. While having a player of Brady’s caliber certainly helps make his job easier, we have seen plenty of coaches with remarkable quarterbacks fail to find success.
Throughout his tenure as head coach, the Patriots routinely have defenses that are ranked inside the top 10 and are among the best in the league. He has a direct impact on that as he develops game plans individual game plans each week for their opponents.
While having Brady certainly aided in Belichick becoming what he is as head coach, going to the lengths that McCoy has to discredit him is a stretch. New England has a tried and true process as they have had a winning record in two out of the three seasons Brady has not been with the team injured or since he departed in free agency and is on their way to making it three out of four.
