No coach in NFL history has won more Super Bowls or more playoff games than Bill Belichick. Starting his career in pro football with the Baltimore Colts all the way back in 1975, he has helped the New York Giants win two titles as defensive coordinator in 1986 and 1990 before taking over the New England Patriots in 2000 and building what is arguably the greatest dynasty the league has ever seen.
Belichick won his first Super Bowl as head coach in 2001, and added two more in 2003 and 2004. In 2014, 2016 and 2018 his teams won three more titles — all while the Patriots achieved 19 straight winning seasons and 10 division titles in a row. Entering this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, the 67-year-old ranks has 301 combined regular season and playoff wins on his résumé, the third most of all time.
Given his legendary achievements, he will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after his retirement. He already earned another honor this week: Belichick was named to the NFL’s All-Time team created to celebrate the league’s 100th anniversary, one of 10 coaches to make the list (only one other, Paul Brown, has already been revealed).
“It’s an incredible honor. It’s incredibly flattering,” Belichick said about being on the list alongside Brown and other all-time greats. “Those coaches were all my idols, they were all the ones I looked up to. We all know this is the ultimate team sport, and I’ve had the great fortune to coach so many great players and have so many great coaches and scouts — it’s really an honor to all the people that I’ve worked with and have been able to coach.”
“One of the biggest challenges really has been just the evolution of the game. The game’s changed and that has forced everyone to change, and learning to adapt and learning to adjust. I really believe that there’s a way to win, you just have to figure it out,” he said the NFL Network show that reveals the team over a six-week stretch.”
“Fundamentally, it really comes back to... you go all the way back to a few hundred years BC, Sun Tzu, The Art of War: attack weaknesses, utilize strengths, and figure out what the strengths are of your team,” Belichick added. “There are some things you have to protect, find the weaknesses of your opponent and attack. You can’t win a war by digging a hole, you have to attack. You have to figure out where you want to attack, how you want to attack, and that changes week-to-week, game-to-game.”
Belichick will not remain the only member of the Patriots to make the team: quarterback Tom Brady will also be on the list, as will be guard John Hannah, kicker Adam Vinatieri, wide receiver Randy Moss, and tight end Rob Gronkowski. It remains to be seen whether or not others will join them.