Is Bill Belichick Coaching for His Legacy Saturday?
Six Super Bowls made Bill Belichick a legend. But six years after Tom Brady left New England, the strangest final act in coaching history has reopened a question that once seemed ridiculous: How much of the Patriot dynasty was Brady—and how much was Bill?
Let me start by admitting the obvious.
Bill Belichick’s legacy is not actually going to disappear Saturday afternoon in Dublin.
The man won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the New England Patriots. He went to nine of them. He won 30 playoff games, more than any head coach in NFL history.
You can’t erase that.
But you can change how we remember it.
And that’s why I think Saturday’s game against TCU matters a hell of a lot more than your typical season opener. Because Bill Belichick is no longer building his résumé. He’s writing the ending. And right now, the ending is getting weird. Really, really f’n weird!
THE BRADY PROBLEM
For two decades, there really wasn’t a Brady-versus-Belichick debate. It was Brady and Belichick. They went together like Jordan and Pippen. Peas and carrots, ham and burgers :)
For an entire generation of football fans, the Patriots weren’t merely a dynasty. They were a fact of life. If you’re a college student today, New England’s run essentially covered your childhood. Just like how the 49ers and Cowboys did during my childhood. They defined an era of the NFL.
Brady. Belichick. Kraft. Foxborough. January. Every damn year. Then Tom Brady left. And something happened that Belichick has never been able to undo. Brady went to Tampa Bay and immediately won another Super Bowl.
Belichick stayed in New England. Over the next four seasons, the Patriots went 29-38. They made the playoffs once. They won zero playoff games. And Belichick’s final Patriots team went 4-13. Blah.
Then came something even more remarkable.
The greatest coach of his generation became available—and almost the entire NFL shrugged. Atlanta interviewed him twice in 2024. The Falcons ultimately hired Raheem Morris. Nobody else even interviewed Belichick. Nobody wanted his grumpy ass.
Think about that.
