new england patriots Head coach Bill Belichick has built a strong resume over his long career, much of it coming from the productive partnership between the legendary coach and star quarterback Tom Brady.
How will Belichick fare as a head coach without Brady?
What’s Bill Belichick’s record without Tom Brady?
Belichick’s legendary performance as a head coach holds multiple NFL records.
The Patriots’ leader for more than two decades won an NFL record six Super Bowls in 24 seasons at the helm. He has many accolades including Super Bowl appearances as a head coach (9), playoff wins as a head coach (31), division titles as a head coach (17).
More information: 2023 NFL head coaching rankings
Much of that success can be attributed to the legendary Brady leading Belichick’s teams.
In a story that has been told many times, Brady took over as New England’s starting quarterback early in the 2001 season after Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury in the second week of the season. The sixth-round pick began his legendary journey with the Patriots by leading them to victory in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Brady started all but two of the team’s 16 regular season games over the next 18 seasons with the team. He led the team to five Super Bowl titles in 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 before leaving after the 2019 season to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Belichick has an 82-97 record as an NFL head coach in 179 games without Brady as the starting quarterback, including a 1-2 record in the playoffs.
That includes a 36-44 record in five years with the Cleveland Browns, a 5-13 record with New England before Brady’s first start, and Matt Casse after Brady suffered a season-ending injury. Er, who went 10-5 in 15 starts in 2008 before suffering a knee injury, started 3-1 in 2016 while Brady was suspended, and the team has a 27-33 record since Brady left in the 2019 season. .
Belichick’s one playoff win without Brady came in his only winning season with the Browns, in 1994. Cleveland went 11-5 in the regular season and won its first-round playoff game 20-13, coincidentally over the Patriots.
Will Belichick’s reign end soon?
In recent years, there have been rumors that New England might consider moving on from Belichick given the team’s struggles in the post-Brady era.
This speculation intensified back in October, when NFL reporter Albert Breer suggested that Patriots owner Robert Kraft would not be interested in the team as early as January 2023. There have been discussions about leaving Belichick since last month. He also mentioned that Kraft has heard the fans’ dissatisfaction with Belichick and is aware of the team’s declining status in the league.
More: New England Patriots depth chart
Inside linebackers coach Jerrold Mayo has long been rumored to be the team’s coach-in-waiting in the post-Belichick era. The longtime New England linebacker helped the team win Super Bowl 49 and served on the Patriots’ coaching staff for several years under Belichick.
Whenever Belichick ends up no longer serving as New England’s head coach, whether by his own choice or the team’s, it will mark the end of a historic era for the franchise.
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