From Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll to Joe Montana and Bill Walsh to Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy — there have been some extraordinary quarterback/head coach duos in NFL history. When it comes to success and longevity, however, one pair stands clearly above the rest: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Since Brady became a starter in 2001, the duo has led the New England Patriots to an unprecedented run of excellence.
Still going strong 17 years and five Super Bowl titles later, the two future Hall of Famers are the new gold standard when it comes to the relationship between a coach and a quarterback — all in an era that has been designed to foster parity and make dynasties near impossible. It is therefore no surprise to see NFL Films rank Belichick and Brady as the number one duo of all time on a recently released top 10 list.
“To me, the Belichick-Brady-mix is as high a level intellectual academia in the NFL as we’ve seen,” NFL Films producer Greg Cosell said during the clip about the duo. “I think it’s a no-brainer that these two are number one,” added Westwood One Radio’s John Sadak. “You can make a great case that each is the all-time great as a head coach and as a player.” Add things up and you have the top coach/quarterback duo of all time.