As NFL coaching carousel halts, Bill Belichick’s legacy left in limbo
When the music stopped Thursday and the Washington Commanders reportedly filled the final 2024-25 head coaching vacancy, former Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t find a seat among the eight open head coaching jobs.
He wasn’t the only coach replaced in this cycle, but none of those coaches approach his credentials—except for maybe the other 70-something replaced in this cycle: Seattle’s Pete Carroll.
Should Belichick never find another head coaching assignment, he already ranks among the all-time greats. Perhaps none will ever match his six Super Bowl wins. Still, his legacy seems in limbo with couple other major career records within his grasp.
Here’s a look at what Belichick has accomplished and is on the cusp on accomplishing.
Where Belichick leads the head-coaching pack
Longevity: By Pro Football Reference’s count, 524 coaches helmed a professional football team for at least one game since 1920. Only six have served as a head coach for a quarter century or more. Belichick would have started his 30th season this year. The Chiefs’ Andy Reid is the only other active coach and still has a chance to win his third Super Bowl in his 25th season.
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Super Bowls: No other coach approaches Belichick and the Patriots’ six Super Bowls quarterbacked by Tom Brady. Only three other coaches have won three or more, and none are still coaching.
Winning percentage: Belichick’s teams have won almost two-thirds of their games. That puts him among the top 10 of all Super Bowl-era coaches who have coached more than 10 seasons. That’s an impressive feat considering his five-year stint with the Cleveland Browns combined with the Patriots stumbles since Brady departed.
A perfect regular season: Belichick and Don Shula are the only two Super Bowl-era coaches to lead their teams to perfect regular seasons. Shula and the Dolphins completed the NFL’s only perfect season in 1972. Few Patriots fans will ever forget the Super Bowl catch that ended their aspirations for a perfect season.
How close Belichick is to becoming the NFL’s winningest coach
Belichick is also within striking distance of another of Shula’s marks. He’s the only other Super Bowl-era coach with more than 300 regular-season wins. Chicago Bears’ George Halas coached 318 wins between 1920 and 1967. Admittedly Halas overlapped a bit in the Super Bowl era.
Not unsurprisingly, Shula’s 347 total wins (regular and postseason combined) are also an NFL record. Because of the Patriots’ 18 years of post-season appearances, Belichick could just be one very good season away from that record. His 333 career wins are just a couple touchdowns short of Shula.
Belichick could become the losingest coach ever, too
Belichick flirted with the ‘losingest’ title this past season. The Patriots helped him avoid the indignity with wins over the Steelers and Broncos late in the year. Still, the 4-13 record was the worst of Belichick’s career and ultimately ended his 24-year run with the Patriots.
His 165th loss in Week 18 to the Jets placed him in three-way tie with Dan Reeves (190-165-2) and Jeff Fisher (173-165-1). He’s also tied with Tom Landry with 178 regular- and post-season losses.