One piece by syndicated columnist Ian O’Connor is especially famous. He argued, quote, “[Owner] Bob Kraft’s wildest gamble has nothing to do with ends and safeties, and everything to do with the middle-aged mess he hired to coach them.”
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
Whether you like him or not, Belichick is objectively the best NFL coach of ALL TIME.
Immediately after taking over the Patriots, he drafted a guy named Tom Brady in the sixth round. Together, they’ve been to NINE Super Bowls in 19 years, winning five. And they could make it SIX this weekend.
Belichick has 30 wins in the playoffs . . . 10 more than any other coach in history. And the Patriots haven’t had a losing season since 2000 . . . Bill’s first year, and the year that Brady was the back-up quarterback.
O’Connor admits that his prediction was the worst of his career, and he now thinks Belichick is LEGENDARY.
He recently said, quote, “I think Belichick has surpassed [Vince Lombardi] as the best NFL coach of all time. It’s just so much harder to maintain excellence now than it was in Lombardi’s time.”
But O’Connor says he doesn’t remember his take being all that unpopular back in the day. And he’s right. There are several articles online which were very dubious about the hire.
A report out of Cleveland said, quote, “[His] record in Cleveland as a fan-base killer is legendary.” In the early ’90s, the Browns were the first team to hire Belichick as a head coach, and he had a very frosty relationship with the city.
And ESPN’s Ron Jaworski said, quote, “Belichick is one of the game’s outstanding defensive coaches, but as a head coach he didn’t prove much. I think there were other qualified coaches out there.”
Obviously, a lot of “hot” sports takes can look silly in hindsight. But considering how loudly and definitively these “experts” and “analysts” shout their GUARANTEES on ESPN, it’s fun to actually go back and hold their feet to the fire . . . since they rarely have to own up to their MISSES.
