FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick will almost certainly go down as the greatest coach in NFL history when he retires, if the New England Patriots coach isn't already viewed in that light.
The Patriots coach has won six Super Bowls, nine AFC Championships, and 17 AFC East titles in his 23 seasons in New England. Despite all the success, Belichick still has some milestone marks to achieve. He coached his 400th game with the Patriots on Sunday and with a 29-0 win over the Lions in that game, he's just one win away from tying George Halas for the second-most wins by a coach (324).
A pair of longtime Patriots captains were asked what exactly makes Belichick such a good coach as he chases another record on Wednesday. Safety Devin McCourty cracked a joke when asked at first.
“Other than like, he’s a really good football coach?” McCourty said before transitioning to a far more serious answer.
“I think consistency, being able to demand a certain standard from your team year in, year out,” McCourty said. “But I would say every single day, whether it’s [when] we first come back in April, and the offseason has set a standard OTA prior to his mini-camp training, because there’s just, from my 13-year experience here. There’s always a level of consistency from the guy that stands behind the podium day in and day out every day. I think that creates a football team that, we used to say, kind of running scared, meaning that you’re gonna stay prepared, you got to always be on top of everything because you want to be prepared, you want to be the best.
“I think Bill creates that here, but just always been that same guy. I think it forces every other player in the building to get to that standard, or if not you feel left behind or you’re not here. I think over the years, you’ve seen different guys come in this place. Different people have sat in all the rooms and the chairs in there.”
McCourty also gave credit to people beyond Belichick in the Patriots' organization for helping to carry out the coach's vision.
“For a long period of time, you’ve seen the same result,” McCourty said. “I think that only comes from obviously not just him, but that person at the top having a lot of consistency that goes to the staff that goes to the players, and then shows up on Sundays.”
Patriots center David Andrews believes that it's Belichick's meticulousness is what makes him great, thinking that it carries throughout the Patriots' organization.
“The attention to detail – the standard,” Andrews said. “I think he’s done a great job of that being from the top down. It trickles throughout the coaches and then the players. I think there’s something to be said that nothing can ever be good enough. It can always be better and the minute you start kind of letting that go to waste, complacency, and things like that.”
Andrews also credited Belichick for finding players that want to be coached, saying he wants to be told “Hey, this is how you should do this.”
“I've always wanted to be coached hard that’s how I grew up,” Andrews said. “My dad was one of my first football coaches and he was hard on me. I just think you wanna be held accountable. If it’s not OK I need to know that it’s not OK and it’s not good enough. That question could go on forever I feel like, but I think that kind of speaks for itself.”
While Belichick is searching for a historic win on Sunday, his Patriots squad is just looking to get back to .500 when they face the Browns to move to 3-3 on the season.
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