As I’ve pointed out any number of times in this space, including in these last two weeks leading up to Sunday night’s Super Bowl 52 between New England and the Philadelphia Eagles, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is a big fan – a really big fan – of Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown, the founding head coach of the Browns from 1946-62.

Belichick thinks Brown is the best head coach ever, and I think he will admit someday, when someone mentions to him that he is the best head coach of all-time, that it was Brown’s legacy he was chasing all along.

Yes, even though it might not appear to be the case, the seemingly stoic, emotionless Belichick does indeed care about his legacy. As such, he knows that part of Brown’s great legacy is the list of great head coaches that he spawned – the great head coaches who have fallen from the Brown coaching tree, both in Cleveland and Cincinnati, where he was head coach of the Bengals from their founding in 1968 through ’75.

That list includes former assistants Weeb Ewbank and Bill Walsh, both of whom are Hall of Famers, and Blanton Collier, and players such as Hall of Famers Don Shula and Chuck Noll.

That’s a real Who’s Who of NFL coaches right there.

The Belichick coaching tree has not to date produced any fruit, really, and he knows that to have a truly great and complete legacy, it must do so. Time is running out for that to happen. It’s unknown how much longer Belichick will coach before he retires.

In the days immediately following Sunday night’s game, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has strong Northeast Ohio ties, will go off to become head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will depart for the head coaching job of the Detroit Lions. Along with that, former Patriots, Ohio State and Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High School linebacker Mike Vrabel just got the head coaching job of the Tennessee Titans.

For Belichick’s coaching tree to thrive, those three must be successful. McDaniels left once already to become head coach of the Denver Broncos, and he failed and returned to New England.

We’ll wait and see how their careers turn out.

You can be sure that Bill Belichick will be watching, too.