Patriots Triva, Volume 3: Head Coaches

John Morgan

Jul 7, 2011 at 4:57pm ET

Follow @AllThingsPats

Some more Pats trivia today while we patiently wait to see what will happen with the NFL labor negotiations. Today’s focus will be on head coaches throughout the history of the New England Patriots.

1.  How many head coaches have the Pats had throughout their history?

2.  Who was the Patriots first head coach?

3.  What former head coach(es) of the Pats are in the NFL Hall of Fame?

4.  Who was the head coach of the Pats that was fired when the Pats had a winning record?

5.  Name the person who was head coach for the Pats, North Texas State, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

6.  Who are the two people who once shared head coaching duties with the Pats?

7.  Of those that have coached the Pats, who has the most wins with any NFL team?

8.  Who was the coach of the Patriots first home playoff game?

9.  Who is the coach with a winning record with three other NFL teams, but not with the Pats?

10.  Who is the coach with losing records with two other NFL teams, but a winning record with the Pats?

11.  With the exception of the two co-coaches, who has the all-time worst won-loss record in Pats history?

12.  What coach went on to win two championships after leaving the Pats?

13.  Who is the head coach that nearly electrocuted himself due to faulty grounding of a microphone?

14.  Who are the six people who have a career winning record as a Pats head coach?

15.  Who is the coach that was once selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Rams?

16.  Who was also once head coach for the Green Bay Packers?

17.  Who is it that has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach, but later admitted it was a mistake to accept the position of head coach with the Pats?

18.  This person was fired by both NFL teams he coached, despite finishing with career winning records with both of them.

19.  This person ranks 7^th for most championships as a head coach.

20.  After leaving the Patriots this person lasted less than two seasons in Buffalo, fired there after compiling a 4-17 record with the Bills.

21.  This former Notre Dame quarterback made the unfortunate decision to resign from the Bills as backfield coach the year before Buffalo drafted O.J. Simpson in order to become head coach of the Patriots.

22.  Who is second in career wins as head coach of the Patriots?

Spoiler Alert: stop here if you don’t want to see the answers yet; scroll down if you do.

Answers in …

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1. 15 (including the co-coaches)


2. Lou Saban


3. Raymond Berry made a name for himself catching passes from Johnny Unitas.


4. Ron Meyer; the Pats were 5-3 when he was fired, a day after Meyer had fired DC Rod Rust without first letting the Sullivans know about his decision.


5. Rod Rust


6. Ron Erhardt and Hank Bullough


7. Bill Parcells ranks 10th all-time with 172 wins; Bill Belichick is ten wins behind him.


8. Chuck Fairbanks' final NFL game was a 31-14 loss to the Oilers on New Years Eve in 1978.


9. Bill Parcells was .500 with the Pats but had a winning recored everywhere else he coached.


10. Pete Carroll was 27-21 with the Pats, 6-10 with the Jets, and 7-9 in Seattle.


11. Rod Rust was a very good defensive coordinator, but was just 1-15 as a head coach in the NFL.


12. Lou Saban with Buffalo, in 1964 and 1965.


13. Clive Rush, whom the Patriots decided to hire instead of Chuck Noll


14. Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Raymond Berry, Ron Meyer, Chuck Fairbanks and Mike Holovak


15. Mike Holovak, who was a fullback and linebacker out of Boston College.


16. Phil Bengston, who had the unenviable job of replacing legendary Vince Lomardi as head coach for the Packers.


17. Dick MacPherson, the rah-rah coach from UMass and Syracuse


18. Ron Meyer: 18-15 with the Pats, 36-35 with the Colts


19. Bill Belichick is tied with Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Weeb Ewbank for 7^th place with three championships.


20. Hank Bullough


21. John Mazur


22. Mike Holovak held the franchise record for wins with 52 for 36 years, until Bill Belichick surpassed it in the final game of the 2004 season.

Patriots all-time franchise head coaches and their records with the Pats:

2000-2010: 176-126 (.716) regular season; 14-5 (.737) playoffs – Bill Belichick

1997-1999: 27-21 (.563) – 1-2 (.333) – Pete Carroll

1993-1996: 32-32 (.500) – 2-2 (.500) – Bill Parcells

1991-1992: 8-24 (.250) – 0-0 (.000) – Dick MacPherson

1990-1990: 1-15 (.063) – 0-0 (.000) – Rod Rust

1984-1989: 48-39 (.552) – 3-2 (.600) – Raymond Berry

1982-1984: 18-15 (.545) – 0-1 (.000) – Ron Meyer

1978-1981: 21-28 (.429) – 0-0 (.000) – Ron Erhardt

1978-1978: 0-1 (.000) – 0-0 (.000) – Hank Bullough

1973-1978: 46-39 (.541) – 0-2 (.000) – Chuck Fairbanks

1972-1972: 1-4 (.200) – 0-0 (.000) – Phil Bengston

1970-1972: 9-21 (.300) – 0-0 (.000) – John Mazur

1969-1970: 5-16 (.238) – 0-0 (.000) – Clive Rush

1961-1968: 52-46-9 (.531) – 1-1 (.500) – Mike Holovak

1960-1961: 7-12 (.368) – 0-0 (.000) – Lou Saban