Where to start with the greatest coach of all time?
The one thing I always appreciated about Bill as a coach was his unique ability to take away the one thing that an opponent wanted to do and force them into something else. Whether that was shutting down a player, a scheme or a tendency, there has never been a coach more effective at turning that concept into a winning strategy.
The man is supernatural in his ability to draw from an encyclopedic knowledge of the entirety of football history and apply it to the current game. He wasn’t afraid to take big risks, draw up unusual game plans and plays and most importantly, remake the team’s identity based on personnel, sometimes on a week to week basis. All of this, while instilling in the team the highest levels of accountability and discipline. Belichick teams (until recently) were always the most prepared, least mistake-prone and best conditioned on the field.
Obviously, the national press will focus on BB’s non-Brady record but that doesn’t diminish the years that the Patriots won when Brady was just another good QB (2001, 2018), the miraculous Matt Cassel season and the countless games that the Pats won based on defensive dominance, particularly in the first three Super Bowl years.
And the press conferences. A work of art as a combination of expert deflection, performance theatre and long-form history lessons. Funny, sarcastic, cutting and informative.
Thanks Coach. It may be time but you’re the best to ever do it and will be missed by the New England faithful.
The one thing I always appreciated about Bill as a coach was his unique ability to take away the one thing that an opponent wanted to do and force them into something else. Whether that was shutting down a player, a scheme or a tendency, there has never been a coach more effective at turning that concept into a winning strategy.
The man is supernatural in his ability to draw from an encyclopedic knowledge of the entirety of football history and apply it to the current game. He wasn’t afraid to take big risks, draw up unusual game plans and plays and most importantly, remake the team’s identity based on personnel, sometimes on a week to week basis. All of this, while instilling in the team the highest levels of accountability and discipline. Belichick teams (until recently) were always the most prepared, least mistake-prone and best conditioned on the field.
Obviously, the national press will focus on BB’s non-Brady record but that doesn’t diminish the years that the Patriots won when Brady was just another good QB (2001, 2018), the miraculous Matt Cassel season and the countless games that the Pats won based on defensive dominance, particularly in the first three Super Bowl years.
And the press conferences. A work of art as a combination of expert deflection, performance theatre and long-form history lessons. Funny, sarcastic, cutting and informative.
Thanks Coach. It may be time but you’re the best to ever do it and will be missed by the New England faithful.
