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The Bill Belichick era is over in New England, after a record six Super Bowl wins and an unparalleled stretch of winning that has come to define greatness in the NFL. The overwhelming sentiment from Patriots fans should be gratitude — for this amazing run and the coach who played a huge role in making it possible.
The phrase “do your job” became something of a way of life for the Patriots dynasty, linking individual responsibility and team success, and making both of these things a priority over individual personalities, egos, goals and even talents that accompany a professional football team. This emphasis on responsibility and results clearly paid off.
In recent decades, Belichick did his job better than any other coach. He not only won a record six Super Bowls in New England as a head coach, but also two as an assistant coach elsewhere. He is currently second in all-time wins for a head coach. In 24 years, he took the Patriots to nine Super Bowls and won 17 division championships. He did his job, and then some.
Belichick said he will “always be a Patriot” on Thursday as part of the announcement that he and Patriots ownership mutually agreed to part ways.
“We had a vision of building a championship football team that has exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations,” the 71-year-old Belichick said, as reported by ESPN. “I’m very proud of that. I’ll always have those great memories, will carry those with me the rest of my life.”
We won’t pretend that his legacy is uncomplicated, with two cheating scandals and debate over whether Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady deserve more credit for the team’s success. The latter may have gotten even more complicated when assessing the performances once Brady left New England. The team has struggled, and Brady won another Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Comments from Brady on Thursday, however, should uncomplicate that conversation a bit.
“I could never have been the player I was without you Coach Belichick. I am forever grateful. And I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose next,” Brady said in a statement reacting to his former coach’s departure.
Brady didn’t hold back in his praise for Belichick, calling him “the best coach in the history of the NFL” in an Instagram post.
“He was a great leader for the organization, and for all of the players who played for him. We accomplished some amazing things over a long period of time, many of which will be hard to replicate,” Brady said. “He worked every day to help us achieve the ultimate goal, in the ultimate team sport. And, although we were successful, some of the greatest lessons I learned were in the moments where we faced the most challenging adversities. He set the tone for the organization to never falter in the face of adversity, and to do what we could do, and what was in our control, which was to go out and DO OUR JOB.”
It’s hard to argue with any of that. An additional, inescapable truth is that, based on a slumping record and uninspired play, the Patriots’ performance in this and recent seasons demonstrated that Belichick wasn’t fully doing his job anymore to sufficiently assemble, prepare and motivate a winning team. At least not to the impossibly high standard that he had already set.
This fact doesn’t make him any less great or diminish the need to appreciate that greatness now, but it still is the reality facing the Patriots as an organization. Belichick didn’t let sentimentality get in the way of making the hard but needed decisions, and in a way, it is fitting that the same approach applies here to him and his departure from the team.
The recent history, however, does not and must not be allowed to overshadow the history that Belichick set over 24 years as the head coach in New England. He helped redefine a franchise, redefine the meaning of success in the NFL, and brought significant excitement and joy to New England fans. He famously may not have smiled much, particularly in his press conferences, but he sure brought a lot of smiles to the faces of Patriots fans. A couple of disappointing seasons can’t possibly erase or minimize those triumphs.
We expect that he will keep coaching, keep winning, and by the end of his career, he will be the winningest coach in NFL history. He deserves that honor.
Wherever he is on to next, we wish him the best and thank him for the wins, for the unrelenting commitment to greatness, even for his occasional turn as a curmudgeon, and for doing his job better than anyone else.
