Head coach Bill Belichick, formerly of the Browns and now of the New England Patriots, is in a bad way — a really bad way.

The Patriots, coming off a 34-0 whipping by the pedestrian New Orleans Saints last Sunday, are 1-4 and going nowhere fast. In fact, they are getting worse — loads worse — instead of better. And the team is so devoid of talent that there appears no way to stem the tide.

All this could be the final straw that ends up costing him his job, unbelievable though it may seem, for this is just another of a series of seasons in which the Pats have struggled since the highly-publicized departure of legendary quarterback Tom
Brady in 2020. Belichick and Brady won six Super Bowls together over two decades, the greatest run in football history.

As the championships rolled in for the first two decades of the century, Belichick went from being a guy who was just 37-45 overall in five seasons with the Browns from 1991-95 to soneone who was widely regarded as the best head coach in pro football history. The recent downturn, though, has caused some to reconsider Belichick’s standing in history.

Without Brady, Belichick has not come close to being a contender. So, then, is he a one-trick pony?

The man he’s chasing in all-time wins, former Browns defensive back Don Shula, did it on two different teams with three different quarterbacks. With the Baltimore, Colts, he had John Unitas, and with the Miami Dolphins, he had Dan Marino and Bob Griese. In those terms, then, the product of Painesville Harvey High School
and John Carroll University had a much more complete resume than Belivk, but the downside is it produced only two Super Bowl titles.

Which man is the greatest?

We could argue that forever.

By the way, Belichick can’t couldn’t stand Shula, but he remains a huge fan of Browns and Cincinnati Bengals Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Paul Brown.

Steve King