Bill Belichick, the legendary 71-year-old coach, has had an incredible 24-year run with the New England Patriots, leading them to unparalleled success. Under his guidance, the team has won an impressive nine Super Bowl championships, winning six out of nine attempts. However, Belichick has decided to step down after finishing dead last in their division this past season.
Bill Belichick was born on April 16, 1952, in Nashville Tennessee. Bill’s father was an assistant collegiate football coach at the U.S Naval Academy. With lots of exposure to the football team, Belichick learned many details about the sport at a very young age. Throughout the years Bill did not excel in playing the sport and received no interest from high division colleges. Bill instead played at the small college of Wesleyan University in Middletown Connecticut. Following his graduation in 1975, Belichick was offered a position as a special assistant coach for the Baltimore Colts. From there, his career flourished.
After working as the special assistant coach to the Baltimore Colts, Bill Belichick moved on to become the assistant coach for the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos and he eventually landed a position with the New York Giants in 1979. Bill moved his way up to becoming the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants and won two superbowl championships with them in 1987 and 1991. Bill spent 12 years with the New York Giants.
Belichick’s fame and skills landed him the head coach position with the Cleveland Browns in 1991. This was his first time as a head coach for a team and was one of the most pivotal times in his career.
Following his time with the Browns, Bill Belichick became the head coach of the New England Patriots. The Patriots struggled towards the beginning of their season but it wasn’t until coach Belichick found a young backup quarterback named Tom Brady who led the New England Patriots to victory. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots went on to win six Superbowl championships under the coaching of Bill Belichick. All six Super Bowl wins with the Patriots made history and is considered one of the most successful teams in the NFL.
Fast forward to the modern day, the Patriots began their plummet with the absence of their great quarterback Tom Brady. This past season, the Patriots had a record of 4 wins and 13 losses and the legendary Coach Bill Belichick has decided it is his time to leave. According to CNN, “The departure brings to an end one of the greatest head coaching runs in NFL history, during which Belichick changed the fortunes of the Patriots organization.” (CNN).
Many fans are sad to see the famous coach Bill Belichick leave the team that he built and led to success and emphasize that they will forever remember him and cherish all the effort he instilled into leading such a great team.
