If Parcells is to be given credit for turning the franchise around, then Fairbanks should be given the same credit - times ten. Fairbanks inherited a team that had not had a winning record in six years (Parcells: four), allowed 32 ppg the prior season (Parcells:23 ppg), and was coming off a points for/against differential of -254 points, or -18 ppg (Parcells: 158. or 10 ppg).
Many point to the players that were drafted while Parcells was with the Patriots, but look at those that Fairbanks selected: John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Darryl Stingley, Ray Hamilton, Steve Nelson, Andy Johnson, Sam Hunt, Russ Francis, Rod Shoate, Steve Grogan, Mike Haynes, Pete Brock, Tim Fox, Raymond Clayborn, Stanley Morgan, Horace Ivory, Don Hasselbeck and Mosi Tatupu.
As
@Jimke mentioned, the Patriots would have won the Super Bowl following the 1976 season if not for Ben Dreith. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. Fairbanks' playoff record is irrelevant to this point. For starters only four teams made the playoffs in each conference then, so comparing records to current times is apples to oranges.
The Pats dominated most of that game and it wouldn't have even been close if not for an interception late in the first half. The Raiders scored a TD in the final two minutes, a 14-point swing. The Pats led 21-10 entering the 4th quarter, but it felt as though they should have been up by a lot more.
John Smith missed a field goal with about four minutes to play that would have put the Patriots up by seven, and then Dreith handed the Raiders the game on the bogus roughing the passer game because he (allegedly) was told that stadium security could not guarantee his safety. Ken Stabler even admitted that there was no way that Hamilton should have been called for a penalty. Prior to that there were multiple non-calls against Oakland on Russ Francis (one where his nose was broken, another where he was blatantly held), and on another play Sam Cunningham ran past the first down marker for a first down, but somehow the spot was placed well short of a first.
Here's the thing: the Steelers were completely beat up, over run with injuries. Whoever won the Pats-Raiders game was going to win the AFCCG. And at that point in time, the AFC was head and shoulders better than the NFC; whatever team came out of the AFC was going to easily defeat the NFC's representative (in this case the Vikings, with an over-the-hill Fran Tarkenton at QB) for the Super Bowl.
So yes, make no mistake: if not for that egregious call by Ben Dreith, the Patriots first Super Bowl winning coach would have (and should have) been Chuck Fairbanks.
Unfortunately that did not happen, and combined with the Sullivan's tightwad ways, Fairbanks soon departed. He doesn't get into the team's hall of fame, but let's not so easily offhandedly dismiss his contribution - or the quality of that 1976 club.
