Bill Belichick has established himself as one of the best in the game, and on Sunday he managed to surpass another terrific coach in the record books.
Sunday’s victory over the Raiders was Belichick’s 271st career victory, moving him ahead of legendary coach Tom Landry into third place all-time in the NFL record books.
It’s an amazing accomplishment, with Belichick now trailing just Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324) in total victories. The likelihood of passing Halas could certainly be a possibility, especially should Tom Brady manage to play five more seasons and continue to average at least 10+ regular season wins over that span, along with a few more deep playoff runs, . The only issue there could be whether or not Belichick, who is 65, would potentially coach into his 70s. That may not be something he’d be willing to do.
With five Super Bowl wins as a head coach and additional ones during his time as a coordinator, the possibility is still there to add a couple more to his resume. Given what he’s already accomplished, after passing Landry, the last two spots may not be a priority. Ultimately, great coaches are judged on the number of championships they’ve won, which at this point, Belichick has already established himself among the all-time greats. At this point, he’s more than surpassed Shula in terms of titles, with Shula finishing 2-4 in Super Bowl appearances. Should he add another, it will only distance him further from the former Dolphins coach who has made it clear he thinks little of Belichick, having referred to him as “Beli-cheat”.
Fortunately, on Sunday he’s moved further up the ladder thanks to a dominating 33-8 win over the Raiders. In typical fashion, he praised his players and credit them for his accomplishment.
“The credit goes to the players,” said Belichick. “They’re the ones who go out and win. They won the game tonight, and they deserved to win because they played better. That’s the way it’s been on those other 270 games or whatever it is. [I’ve] been very fortunate to have a lot of great players.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
