| Bill
Belichick is a great assistant but a lousy head coach. Admit it. I wasn’t the only
one who felt that way prior to this season, a season in which Belichick has reinvented
himself and guided an overachieving New England Patriots team to an unexpected berth in
Super Bowl XXXVI. It’s been an amazing transformation, and it has as much to do with
the Patriots’ success this season as anything else.
As one of the most highly respected assistant coaches in the game, Belichick had a
brilliant record as a defensive coordinator, helping the New York Giants win two Super
Bowls for head coach Bill Parcells and then assisting the New England Patriots all the way
to a Super Bowl defeat and the New York Jets to the AFC championship game.
But Belichick’s two head-coaching stints had fallen well short of expectations.
Heading into his second season as Patriots head coach, Belichick had produced losing
seasons in five of six seasons as an NFL head coach and had amassed a 42-56 record.
Belichick was not only a losing coach, but he was a poor loser. His nickname during his
first head-coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns was "Little Hitler." He was
known to be surly, intimidating and cold — the opposite of a "people"
person. All added up, it wasn’t a pretty picture.
By now you all know about backup QB Tom Brady’s stunning emergence as a Pro Bowl
quarterback, the improbable AFC East title, the eight-game winning streak and the AFC
title game upset at Pittsburgh. But several factors came into play in the Patriots’
success this season, and each involves Belichick. He’s the one who set the tone for
this team. He’s the one who made them believe they could achieve what most thought
was impossible. And he’s the one who deserves a place of honor alongside his mentor,
Parcells, if he should orchestrate one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history this
Sunday.
Belichick laid the groundwork for this season’s success during the offseason
following a 5-11 season.
First, he hired Romeo Crennel, an old colleague from their days with Parcells, as the
defensive coordinator, relieving himself of those demanding duties. Second, he encouraged
offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to find ways to inject life into a stagnant attack.
Those two moves freed him up to be more of a manager and an overseer of the entire
picture. Now, he had more time to make personnel decisions and, more importantly, he had
more time to relate to his players better.
Belichick had always been criticized for being cold and distant when it came to his
players. This year, a new side of him came out, especially following late-season victories
at home over New Orleans and on the road against the Jets. The stoic Belichick was seen
smiling and celebrating those victories, hugging players and patting them on their
helmets. The players clearly took notice and felt a new affection for their coach.
Several offseason additions also began to pay dividends. Free agents like RB Antowain
Smith, WRs David Patten and Fred Coleman, LB Bryan Cox, DEs Bobby Hamilton and Anthony
Pleasant and CB Terrell Buckley may have been castoffs from their previous teams, but all
were productive for the Pats this year.
Belichick and his staff did a great job of getting the most out of their top two draft
picks, DT Richard Seymour and OT Matt Light, who became solid starters. Suddenly, the
Patriots shored up two weak areas — running the ball and stopping the run — and
became a team that could play with anyone, including the Rams, as illustrated in a
hard-fought 24-17 loss in Foxboro in Week 10.
Belichick proved he could manage his team through adversity too. The Patriots had
entered the 2001 season with low expectations — PFW selected them fifth, and last, in
the AFC East — and played like it the first two weeks, losing dismally to Cincinnati
and the New York Jets.
Adding injury to insult, the Patriots found themselves without franchise QB Drew
Bledsoe, who was seriously injured on a vicious hit by Jets LB Mo Lewis in the Week Two
loss. Plus, No. 1 WR Terry Glenn was sniping at Belichick about being suspended by the
team.
But it was exactly then that Belichick took command of the situation and became a great
leader. He elevated Brady to the starting QB position and when the team began to respond
to Brady, Belichick encouraged the youngster and professed his trust in him.
He even went so far as to violate the long-held unwritten rule of the NFL that a
starter shouldn’t lose his position due to injury. The Pats were clearly on a roll by
the time Bledsoe was well enough to suit up and play, and Belichick stood firm in his
support of Brady, ignoring the star quarterback who had signed a $100 million deal in the
offseason.
That decision had two effects on the team. First of all, it showed that Belichick was
all about winning, that he didn’t care who you were or what your salary might be. He
would play the players he thought would give him the best chance to win each week.
Secondly, it sent the message that no player was bigger than the team and that if you
worked hard and played your best, you would be rewarded with playing time.
He also did a great job of handling a touchy situation with Glenn, focusing on the
players he had and not allowing the problem child to divide the team. Even when Glenn was
ordered back onto the team by an arbitrator, Belichick played him sparingly and then
simmered as Glenn sat out several weeks with an alleged hamstring injury. Belichick wisely
suspended Glenn late in the year, effectively eliminating his negative presence from a
unified team and a positive locker room.
The transformation of Belichick this season has been as stunning as the Patriots’
surprising run to the Super Bowl. One season doesn’t make a career, but if this year
is any indication, the Patriots and Belichick have a lot to look forward to in the future. |
