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Bill Belichick Coaching Tree: How Many NFL Head Coaches Were Coached Under Patriots Legend?
Here is the list of Bill Belichick’s coaching tree that the iconic former Patriots coach crafted in his prime coaching years
Be it being one of the best NFL coaches to exist or be it coaching the GOAT of the NFL, Bill Belichick has done it all. Hardly any head coach ever will produce as phenomenal of a run as Bill Belichick did in his years with the Patriots. In the 24 years that Belichick has spent with New trophies, not only did he etch the record for winning the most Lombardi trophies but also he spawned an impressive coaching tree. Now, as his almost two and a half decade long partnership with the Patriots comes to an end, let’s look at Bill Belichick’s coaching tree.
Belichick is a descendant of Bill Parcells, best known for his time with the Giants. This is where Coach Belichick picked up all his fundamentals as his defensive coordinator and set them in stone for years, making him craft some majestic Super Bowl-winning plays. Belichick worked under Parcells across 3 different teams, where the joined force of Bill and Bill brought home two Super Bowls: New York Giants (1983-91), New England Patriots (1996), and New York Jets (1997-99).
Matter of fact, it was Bill Belichick who handled the head coaching duties at Jets after Parcells resigned. However, he resigned from the post a few years later to embark on his Patriots journey.
Nick Saban
However, in between the lines of working for his mentor Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick worked with the person who would become the ‘best head coach in the history of college football’ one day. Yes, surprisingly, Nick Saban has also shared a few coaching years with Bill Belichick. It was during 1991-1994, between Belichick’s coaching stint at the Giants and the Patriots under Parcells, that he took up the head coaching duties at Cleveland Brown.
Saban was his defensive coordinator there, where the two helped the Browns reach the playoffs in 1993. But the experience wasn’t exactly all rainbows and flowers for Saban to work with Belichick, to put it nicely. In Saban’s words, the 4 years were “the worst of his life." Despite this, the former Alabama HC continues to foster a close friendship with the former Patriots HC.
Bill O’Brian
Now comes the golden era of Bill Belichick: his time at the Patriots. Around the same time that Bill Belichick forged the GOAT of the NFL, he was also forging some other greats mind that will etch milestones in the years of the NFL to come.
One of them was Bill O’Brian from the time that he had a winning reputation. O’Brian started off by working as a RB coach who later got promoted as an offensive coordinator between 2007-2011.
In 2014, he put on the head coaching cap at Texans, which made for some of the worst records in his coaching career. His tenure started off good with the Texas, as he led them to 4 AFC titles. However, after 4-12 season and nine straight losses spanning two seasons with Texans, O’Brian was fired.
Josh McDaniels
Along with O’Brian, another interesting coaching story emerging out of Belichick’s squad from the Patriots is Josh McDaniels. A very interesting candidate, indeed. McDaniels Started off as Belichick’s personal assistant and rising to the offensive coordinator ranks from 2001 to 2008.
After bolstering his skills for 8 years under Belichick, McDaniels went to coach Broncos, from where he was fired, after which he rejoined Belichick’s squad in 2012 as his OC, where he won two more Super Bowls. However, once he took up the head coaching job with Denver Broncos, it went downhill for him. Thanks to his 11-20 record, McDaniels was fired mid-season with a lot of controversies surrounding him.
Matt Patricia
While the Patriots fans weren’t exactly big fans of McDaniels, they instantly loved Matt Patrica as he became one of the hottest coaching names by helping the Patriots win two Lombardi Trophies in his 13-year stint with the Patriots from 2004 to 2017.
However, after the Patriots lost Super Bowl in 2018, Patricia switched sides and took over head coaching role at the Lions. It proved to be a nightmare for him. Patricia finished his first season with a 6-10 record and the next one with a 3-12 record, after which he was fired.
Romeo Crennel
Crennel was one of the evergreen ones in Belichick’s coaching books. Right from Belichick’s Giants days to his Patriots days, Crennel has worked with Belichick. During his tenure with Giants, Crennel worked as a defensive assistant to Parcells. This position was later promoted to that of a defensive coordinator when he joined Belichick at Patriots.
Following the footsteps of Belichick, Crennel secured his first head coaching job with the Browns, where he had a losing record of 24-40. After this, he saw several stints. Despite all this, he continues to foster a great relationship with Belichick.
Top coaches under Bill Belichick’s coaching tree
Here are the top coaches who come under Bill Belichick's coaching umbrella:
|
Coaches |
Wins |
Losses |
Years with Bill Belichick |
|
Nick Saban |
292 |
71 |
1991-94 |
|
Bill O’Brian |
124 |
85 |
2007-11 |
|
Josh McDaniels |
20 |
33 |
2001-08, 2012-21 |
|
Mike Vrabel |
134 |
72 |
2001-08 (as a player) |
|
Romeo Crennel |
32 |
63 |
1971-99, 2001-04 |
|
Eric Mangini |
159 |
145 |
1997-99, 2000-05 |
|
Brian Flores |
226 |
97 |
2004-18 |
|
Joe Judge |
120 |
75 |
2012-19 |
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