William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach, currently the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He became the head coach of the Patriots before the 2000 season, having previously worked as a defensive coordinator. In the early 1990s, he had been the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, but left after little success. Known for his elaborate defensive schemes and business-like coaching style, Belichick achieved unprecedented success with the Patriots, winning 3 Super Bowls in his first 5 years as head coach (Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX).
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference |
Early life
Belichick was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from Annapolis High School, he attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts for a postgraduate year. Upon his graduation from Phillips, Belichick attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he played center/tight end. In addition to being a member of the football team, he also played lacrosse and squash, serving as the captain of the lacrosse team during his senior season. He is a member of Chi Psi fraternity and graduated in 1975 with a degree in economics.
Assistant Coach
After graduating, he took a $25-per-week job as a coaching assistant with the NFL's Baltimore Colts and began his pro football education. He then became a special teams coach with the Detroit Lions (1976) and the Denver Broncos (1977-78) before joining the staff of the New York Giants and head coach Ray Perkins in 1979. He eventually became linebackers coach and later defensive coordinator under head coach Bill Parcells, who had replaced Perkins in 1983. The Giants won Super Bowls following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
His defensive gameplan from the New York Giants' 20-19 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as is his defensive gameplan from the New England Patriots 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (although he was a head coach at this time).
Head Coach
Cleveland Browns
From 1991 until 1995, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. During his tenure in Cleveland, he compiled a 36-44 record, leading the team to a playoff win in 1994. Many fans in Cleveland, however, remember him as the man who benched and then cut much-beloved quarterback Bernie Kosar in 1993, a move that sparked great controversy. In Belichick's last season in Cleveland, the Browns would finish 5-11. In November of that year, Browns owner Art Modell announced he would move the team to Baltimore after the season.[1]
New York Jets
After leaving Cleveland, Belichick served under Parcells again as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator with the Patriots (1996) and New York Jets (1997-99). When Parcells stepped down as head coach, Belichick became the new head coach. However, Belichick's introduction to the media the following day turned out to be a surprise resignation announcement. Before taking the podium, he scrawled a resignation note on a sheet of loose leaf paper that read, in its entirety, "I resign as HC of the NYJ." He then delivered a rambling half-hour speech explaining his resignation to the assembled press corps.[2]
Shortly afterward, he accepted an offer from the Patriots to become their new head coach, who had previously tried to hire him away from the Jets. Parcells and the Jets claimed that Belichick was still under contract, and demanded compensation from the Patriots. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreed, and the Patriots gave the Jets a first-round draft pick in 2000 in exchange for the right to hire Belichick.[3]
New England Patriots
Belichick was part of another quarterback controversy in New England during the 2001 season, after Drew Bledsoe was injured in the second game of the season and replaced by Tom Brady. Although Bledsoe eventually recovered from his injury, Belichick elected to keep Brady as his starter. This decision clearly paid off as the Patriots won the Super Bowl that year, and Brady eventually developed into one of the league's best quarterbacks. The Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI over the St. Louis Rams by a score of 20-17. He also went on to lead the Patriots over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII by a score of 32-29 and a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX by a final score of 24-21.
Criticisms
In 2003, the New England Patriots released popular safety Lawyer Milloy, who signed with the Buffalo Bills and helped his new team shutout New England on opening weekend, 31-0. On an episode of NFL Countdown, Tom Jackson claimed that the Patriots were not behind head coach Bill Belichick, saying the following: "Let me say this clearly: they hate their coach." His provocative claim drew fervent denials from the Patriots locker room. Belichick was stunned by the remark and the lack of an apology as the season continued. The Patriots recovered from the Buffalo loss and finished the regular season at a league-best 14-2. After the team was victorious in Super Bowl XXXVIII over the Carolina Panthers, Jackson attempted to shake Belichick's hand. The coach responded: "Go fuck yourself." The post-game interview with Belichick was handled entirely by Chris Berman.[1]
Belichick is often disparaged for the unconventional attire he wears on the sideline while coaching. He usually sports a Patriots emblazoned hooded sweatshirt, with or without cutoff sleeves, depending on the weather conditions. Tony Kornheiser jokingly criticized Belichick’s clothing during a Monday Night Football game televised on October 30, 2006, stating that “Sure, Belichick is a genius, but… he’s in a sweatshirt like some homeless guy…Did you see [him] tonight with the cut-off look? You can get that sweatshirt for thirty-nine cents at an army surplus store!” [4]
In addition, Belichick is sometimes criticized for his demeanor towards the media and towards opposing team’s coaches. In the Patriots’ previous two 2006 regular season matchups against the New York Jets, Belichick gave Jets’ head coach Eric Mangini the "no-look handshake" . On January 7, 2007, when the two teams met again in the playoffs, Belichick decided to exchange a congratulatory hug with Mangini, but in the process pushed a photographer out of the way. [5].
San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson called out Belichick after his Patriots defeated the Chargers in a 2007 AFC divisional playoff game and celebrated on the field after kicker Nate Kaeding missed a 54-yard field goal attempt that would've tied the game as time ran down in regulation. "I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach[6]."
Coaching tree
As of January 7, 2007, six members of Belichick's "coaching tree" were head coaches of either other NFL teams or NCAA Division I football programs:
- Romeo Crennel for the Browns
- Eric Mangini for the Jets
- Nick Saban at Alabama
- Charlie Weis at Notre Dame
- Kirk Ferentz at Iowa
- Pat Hill at Fresno State
Belichick's tree has also spawned a number of young assistants who are currently coordinators in the league, most notably Jim Schwartz, the Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan current Defensive Coordinator of the Oakland Raiders, Jeff Davidson current Offensive Coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, Phil Savage Cleveland Browns GM, former Miami Dolphins interim Head Coach and Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates and Josh McDaniels, the 30-year old offensive coordinator who replaced Weis on Belichick's Patriots staff.
Belichick has been known to cultivate ties with the collegiate branches of his coaching tree: in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted two players from Fresno State, while in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted one Notre Dame player, and then signed two more as free agents after the draft.
In addition, Belichick is a devoted student of the game; during the offseason, he has spent significant amounts of time visiting with other programs to learn from their experiences. For example, he has studied the Navy run offense, and spent time with Jimmy Johnson to learn about drafting and contract negotiations. Similarly, in recent years, he has paid several visits to University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer. Meyer considers himself a protégé of Belichick, and has tried to emulate Belichick's success at New England, so many Patriots fans were not surprised when two Florida players were drafted in 2006 (Chad Jackson), and another three were signed as free agents (in addition to two other Gator alumni already on the roster).
Belichick himself is sometimes considered a member of the Bill Parcells Coaching Tree, a much larger and complex tree of coaches that stretches deep into NCAA and NFL coaching ranks.
Family Life
Belichick is married (although a separation from his wife Debby before the 2004 season was disclosed by the team in July 2005) and has three children, Stephen, Amanda and Brian. Stephen is a standout lacrosse player who will attend Rutgers in 2007 on scholarship. Amanda is a student at Wesleyan University, where her father went to college.
On July 20, 2006, a New Jersey construction worker accused his wife in divorce proceedings of having a four-year affair with Belichick. Belichick met Sharon Shenocca, a former receptionist for the New York Giants, while the defensive coordinator of that team[7]; the plaintiff later amended his complaint to include adultery among the grounds for divorce.
Belichick is a Croatian American. His father, the late Steve Belichick (born Steven Bilicic), played for the Detroit Lions and was an assistant coach and scout with the United States Naval Academy football team for 33 years. Bill reportedly learned to break down game films at a young age by watching his father and the Navy staff do their jobs.[2] His paternal grandparents Ivan Beličić and Mary Barković emigrated from Karlovac, Croatia in the late 1890s.
Trivia
- Belichick had a cameo appearance in an episode of the Denis Leary drama Rescue Me as a mourner at a funeral.
- On the October 30, 2006 installment of ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, he was featured in a makeover spoof with quarterback Tom Brady, which was done by the three main characters from Ugly Betty (America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade, and Becki Newton as Amanda) [8]. The end result: A photo of Belichick as "Ugly Bill!"
- In the Madden game series his name is not used and is known as NE Coach. This also applies for Bill Parcells who is known as DAL Coach.
Notes
- ^ Holley, Michael. Patriot Reign. (ISBN 0-06-075795-7)
- ^ Halberstam, David. The Education of a Coach. (ISBN 1-4013-0879-1)
- ^ http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2004/01/29/belichick_plugs_in_his_rocker_friend?mode=PF