Bill Belichick
William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952) is an American football head coach, currently head coach of the New England Patriots, a team in the National Football League. He became the head coach of the Patriots before the 2000 season, having previously worked as a defensive coordinator. In the early nineties, he had been the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Known for his elaborate defensive schemes and business-like coaching style, Belichick achieved almost immediate success as head coach, leading the Patriots to Super Bowl titles in the 2001, 2003, and 2004 NFL seasons.
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[edit] Early life
Belichick was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. After graduating from Annapolis High School, he attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts for a postgraduate year. Upon his graduation from Phillips, Belichick attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he played center/tight end. In addition to being a member of the football team, he also played lacrosse and squash, serving as the captain of the lacrosse team during his senior season. He is a member of Chi Psi fraternity and graduated in 1975 with a degree in economics.
[edit] Assistant Coach
After graduating, he took a $25-per-week job as a coaching assistant with the NFL's Baltimore Colts and began his pro football education. He then became a special teams coach with the Detroit Lions (1976) and the Denver Broncos (1977-78) before joining the staff of the New York Giants and head coach Ray Perkins in 1979. He eventually became linebackers coach and later defensive coordinator under head coach Bill Parcells, who had replaced Perkins in 1983. The Giants won Super Bowls following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.
His defensive gameplan from the New York Giants' 20-19 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as is his defensive gameplan from the New England Patriots 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
[edit] Head Coach
[edit] Cleveland Browns
From 1991 until 1995, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. During his tenure in Cleveland, he compiled a 36-44 record, leading the team to a playoff win in 1994. Many fans in Cleveland, however, remember him as the man who benched and then cut much-beloved quarterback Bernie Kosar in 1993, a move that sparked great controversy. In Belichick's last season in Cleveland, Browns owner Art Modell announced he would move the team to Baltimore after the season. This announcement put the team and the city in an uproar as the Browns would finish 5-11.
[edit] New York Jets
After leaving Cleveland, Belichick served under Parcells again as assistant head coach/secondary with the Patriots (1996) and New York Jets(1997-99). Belichick was offered the Jets head coaching position, but his introduction speech turned out to be a surprise resignation. Shortly afterward, he accepted an offer from the Patriots to become their new head coach.
[edit] New England Patriots
Belichick was part of another quarterback controversy in New England during the 2001 season, after Drew Bledsoe was injured in the second game of the season and was replaced by Tom Brady. Although Bledsoe eventually recovered from his injury, Belichick elected to keep Brady as his starter. This decision paid off as the Patriots won the Super Bowl that year, and Brady eventually developed into one of the league's best quarterbacks. The Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI over the St. Louis Rams by a score of 20-17. He also went on to lead the Patriots over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII by a score of 32-29 and a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX by a final score of 24-21.
It was also disclosed in January 2006 by Patriots' owner Robert Kraft that Belichick had received a contract extension, although the details of that extension have not been revealed.
[edit] Coaching Tree
As of May 1, 2006, three members of Belichick's "coaching tree" were head coaches of other NFL teams, and at least three were head coaches of NCAA Division I football programs:
- Romeo Crennel for the Browns
- Eric Mangini for the Jets
- Nick Saban for the Dolphins
- Charlie Weis at Notre Dame
- Kirk Ferentz at Iowa
- Pat Hill at Fresno State
Belichick, himself, is considered a member of Bill Parcells' Coaching Tree, creating a much larger and complex "family tree" of coaches that stretches deep into NCAA and NFL coaching ranks. Still, it is noteworthy that while Belichick has won three Superbowls without Parcells, Parcells has not won any Superbowls without Belichick.
In the 2005 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted two players from Fresno State; in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted one Notre Dame player, and then signed two more as free agents after the draft.
In addition, Belichick is a devoted student of the game; during the offseason, he has spent significant amounts of time visiting with other programs to learn from their experiences. For example, he has studied the Navy run offense, and spent time with Jimmy Johnson to learn about drafting and contract negotiations.
In recent years, he has paid several visits to University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer. Meyer considers himself a protégé of Belichick, and has tried to emulate Belichick's success at New England, so Patriots fans were not surprised when two Florida players were drafted in 2006, and another three were signed as free agents (in addition to two other Gator alumni already on the roster).
[edit] Family Life
Belichick is married (although a separation from his wife Debby before the 2004 season was disclosed by the team in July 2005) and has two sons and one daughter. Belichick is a Croatian American. His father, the late Steve Belichick (born Steven Bilicic), played for the Detroit Lions and was an assistant coach of the United States Naval Academy football team for 33 years. Bill reportedly learned to break down game films at a young age by watching his father and the Navy staff do their jobs. His paternal grandparents Ivan Belicic and Mary Barkovic emigrated from Karlovac, Croatia in the late 1890s.
[edit] Trivia
Technically, Belichick served as head coach of the New York Jets twice without ever coaching a game. In 1997, he was introduced as the Jets' head coach while Parcells was hired as a "consultant." In reality, the plan was for Belichick to serve in an interim role until a deal could be worked out between the Jets and Patriots over compensation to the Patriots that would let Parcells come to the Jets. After that deal was made, Parcells assumed the head coaching duties and Belichick resumed his role as assistant head coach.
Belichick was picked to be Parcells' successor when Parcells stepped down as head coach in 1999. However, after one day on the job, Belichick resigned in order to return to New England and take the head coaching job with the Patriots.
