Bobby Kownack of the NFL’s website noted that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick tied former Chicago Bears coach George Halas for second on the all-time wins list, playoffs included, when Belichick notched overall victory No. 324 via Sunday’s 38-15 win at the Cleveland Browns.
A humble Belichick credited those who have played under him and worked alongside him throughout the years for his many successes at the highest level.
“You can’t win games in this league without good players,” Belichick explained, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “I’m very fortunate to have coached a lot of great players and have had a lot of great coaches on my staff through the years. A lot of those guys have gone on to have tremendous careers and players obviously – many of them are Patriots Hall of Fame or NFL Hall of Fame, or are going to be. Winning games in this league is about having good players and I’m very fortunate to have a lot of them. I had them in New York. I had them in Cleveland. I have them here.”
Of course, the combination of Belichick and legendary quarterback Tom Brady helped the New England Patriots win six Super Bowl titles from 2000 until Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2020. Without Brady, Belichick’s 2021 Patriots qualified for the playoffs but then fell to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round.
Don Shula holds the record for most NFL coaching wins with 347. Depending on how long Belichick wishes to continue working on the sidelines, it seems to be a matter of when, not if, he’ll match and then break Shula’s mark.
Meanwhile, the 3-3 Patriots will next host the 2-4 Bears in a “Monday Night Football” matchup on Oct. 24.
