The top 3 best Patriots head coaches of all time

[Double G]

1.) BB, the biggest no brainer in the history of earth (where have I heard that before?)

2.) Bill Parcells; took over a dismal team, took them to the playoffs in his second year and the Super Bowl in his fourth. If he had stuck around, they would have gone to perhaps another Super Bowl or two.

3.) Chuck Fairbanks; like Parcells, took over a laughing stock of a team and built a powerhouse, had he stayed here, they would have won two or three Super Bowls.

Can't put Berry into this group, he took over a pretty good team in 1984 (5-3 when he got hired) and got them to the Super Bowl in 1986, flamed out after that................

 

[rabthepat]

What is all this love for Chuck Fairbanks? 46-39 overall, 0-2 in playoffs and only won the division 1 time. Also, wasn't his departure to Colorado kind of sketchy?

Raymond Berry 48-39 overall, 3-2 in playoffs, 1 SB, 1 division title, HOF player.

 

[patman52]

1.) Belichick
2.) Fairbanks
3.) Parcells

dead on - same here

 

[40yrpatsfan]

What is all this love for Chuck Fairbanks? 46-39 overall, 0-2 in playoffs and only won the division 1 time. Also, wasn't his departure to Colorado kind of sketchy?

Raymond Berry 48-39 overall, 3-2 in playoffs, 1 SB, 1 division title, HOF player.

I think what we recall about Fairbanks is that he assembled one of the most talented and entertaining teams in Patriots history. For many reasons (Drieth, the meddling Billy Sullivan, and some hard luck), they were denied the championship(s) they should have gotten.

Berry's '86 team had that one magical run, you have to give him that. But that team couldn't compare with the '76 team.

 

[patsgo]

What is all this love for Chuck Fairbanks? 46-39 overall, 0-2 in playoffs and only won the division 1 time. Also, wasn't his departure to Colorado kind of sketchy?

Raymond Berry 48-39 overall, 3-2 in playoffs, 1 SB, 1 division title, HOF player.

if you didnt follow the team back then you wouldnt understand under fairbanks it was the first time in patriot history we actually had players and we were consisdered a elite team in the nfl

 

[rabthepat]

if you didnt follow the team back then you wouldnt understand under fairbanks it was the first time in patriot history we actually had players and we were consisdered a elite team in the nfl

Pete Carroll had more playoff wins than Chuck Fairbanks. Chuck may be a sentimental favorite, which is a one thing, but how he can be in the top 3 without ever winning a playoff game doesn't seem reasonable.

Raymond Berry had a higher winning %, more playoff wins, a trip to the Superbowl, and coached under the same ownership.

 

[RayClay]

Belichick, Belichick and Belichick of course.

 

[reflexblue]

What is all this love for Chuck Fairbanks? 46-39 overall, 0-2 in playoffs and only won the division 1 time. Also, wasn't his departure to Colorado kind of sketchy?

Raymond Berry 48-39 overall, 3-2 in playoffs, 1 SB, 1 division title, HOF player.

How old are you? Are you old enough to REALY Remember the Fairbanks era?

 

[363839]

Pete Carroll had more playoff wins than Chuck Fairbanks. Chuck may be a sentimental favorite, which is a one thing, but how he can be in the top 3 without ever winning a playoff game doesn't seem reasonable.

Raymond Berry had a higher winning %, more playoff wins, a trip to the Superbowl, and coached under the same ownership.

First off. Pete Carroll inherited a pretty good team molded by Parcells.
They were in the Superbowl the previous year.
Fairbanks inherited an atrocious team and turned it around.
Carroll's owner had deep pockets and wasn't afraid to reach down.
Fairbanks had Sullivan.
He was with the team for 3 or 4 years and took them to the playoffs twice.
The first time was the Dreith Roughing the passer game and the second was the time he got fired right before the game against Houston.
He got fired because he had just informed Sullivan he would be going to colorado so Billy got mad and fired him on the spot.

 

[Jimke]

I think what we recall about Fairbanks is that he assembled one of the most talented and entertaining teams in Patriots history. For many reasons (Drieth, the meddling Billy Sullivan, and some hard luck), they were denied the championship(s) they should have gotten.

Berry's '86 team had that one magical run, you have to give him that. But that team couldn't compare with the '76 team.

Give credit for the meddling to Chuck Sullivan. He negated long term

contracts for Leon Gray and John Hannah which had been negotiated by

Fairbanks. As soon as Fairbanks was out the door, Leon Gray was traded

to Miami. Chuck Sullivan later went into debt promoting the infamous Michael

Jackson tour and his Dad had to sell the team to cover the debt.

 

[rabthepat]

How old are you? Are you old enough to REALY Remember the Fairbanks era?

I actually began following the Pats while he was coaching the Pats. Yet, I do not think you need to have followed the Pats while he was coaching to determine he cannot be rated above Raymond Berry as a coach.

Chuck never won a playoff game. Plain and simple with no excuses. Raymond Berry took a wild card team and won three playoff games on the road then went on to the Superbowl. His career winning % is higher than Chuck's and he had the same owner for a boss.

Perhaps Chuck was more like able with a better personality than Raymond but Raymond's run to the Superbowl is way more memorable than anything Chuck did.

 

[italian pat patriot]

1 - Belichick
2 - Fairbanks
3 - Parcells

honorable mentions to Berry (4th) and Holovak (5th)

 

[Jimke]

Chuck Fairbanks should be considered 4th best of all time - He did have 2 less wins than Berry with the same amount of losses but what really seperates the 2 was while Fairbanks was coaching he had what was arguably the Best Patriots team of all time in 1976 and could not bring them a championship - Both Parcells and Berry had simply horrible teams that they brought back into respectability - IMO many head coaches would have done well with those mid-70s Patriots teams who were so talent laden.

I agree with you that Raymond Berry did an excellent job getting the Pats into the Superbowl, but I disagree that he inherited a horrible team. Ron Meyer inherited the lousy team
from Ron Erhardt in 1982. He was doing a good job of rebuilding the team until he was fired at mid-season in 1984. Ron was fired after he fired Rod Rust after a 44-24 loss to Miami.
Berry had a couple of 11-5 seasons but things started to come undone after the Pats lost to Denver 21-10 the last game in the 1987 season. That was the game in which Berry started an injured Tony Eason and later replaced him with an injured Steve Grogan. After the loss was assured, Berry put healthy Doug Flutie into the game. Doug threw a Hail Mary pass which was intercepted. Berry used the interception as his reason for not starting Doug.

 

[Michigan Dave]

Would Belichicken be "the genius" if Bledsoe doesn't get hurt???

Definitely. Brady ascended up the depth chart to #2 in only 1 year, and had outperformed Bledsoe in camp. It was only a matter of time before he was QB1, and Brady knew it, too. I think to place Belichick at #1, rings aside, you just have to look at his X and O coaching and how he schemed and shut down 2 of the greatest offenses of all-time in the playoffs in the Rams and Colts. Furthermore, what he did to Indy in 2005, with the patchwork secondary. Amazing. Worthy of #1.

 

[Double G]

Looks like we are going round and round on this; Fairbanks took over a dismal team and built a powerhouse, they got royally screwed in the Raiders game, which should have been one playoff win, they would have taken care of an injury riddled Steelers team for win number two, then smoked an aging Vikings team for a Super Bowl win.

They had an excellent team in 1978, would have done damage in the playoffs had there not been all of the turmoil and Fairbanks departing. Those 1976-1978 teams were LOADED with great players and some of them carried over into the Berry era.

Berry, once again, took over a 5-3 team and failed to get them to the playoffs, did so the following year, had the magical three road wins and on to the Super Bowl, where they got smoked by the Bears. He made the playoffs the following year and made the huge mistake of picking the wrong QB to start the game and he was done.

Sorry, it's like comparing apples to hand grenades.