By Matt Sohn
Jan. 15, 2008

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

The wolves came crawling out of hibernation. Finally, they had a reason to question the legitimacy of the Patriots’ reign atop the NFL hierarchy. Bill Belichick, the Patriots’ surefire Hall of Fame head coach, had been accused by former protégé Eric Mangini of having his staff videotape the Jets coaches’ signals in the Pats’ 38-14 opening-week romp at Giants Stadium. Such an action is deemed illegal by NFL bylaws.

Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, whose team lost by three points to Belichick’s Pats in Super Bowl XXXIX, wondered how long Belichick had been partaking in the unsavory practice and whether the Eagles should have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Jacksonville, Fla., instead of their Pa­triot counterparts.

Colts head coach Tony Dungy, whose team had emerged as the Patriots’ chief competition for AFC supremacy over the last several years, hinted that Belichick could be held in the same regard as another disgraced sports figure.

“We seem to have tarnished Barry Bonds,” Dungy said. “We’ve pointed out that, even though he’s a great player and he’s hit a lot of home runs, because of what some people that work around him have done, it seems to have tarnished him in the court of public opinion.”

And then there was Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, whose team would be attempting to vindicate its playoff loss to the Pats the previous season, just days later at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

“I think the Patriots actually live by the saying, ‘If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,’ ” Tomlinson quipped.

With his players rallying behind him, Belichick responded to the charges with game-day excellence. The Pats took care of Tomlinson first, holding the reigning league MVP to 43 yards on 18 carries in a 38-14 throttling of the Bolts in Week Two.

A juggernaut was born.

The Patriots disposed of their adversary in each successive game, winning all but four by at least a 10-point buffer, en route to the NFL’s first 16-0 regular season. It was just the fourth unblemished campaign in league history, and the first since Don Shula’s Dolphins went 14-0 in 1972.

In a league that prides itself on fostering competitive balance, the Patriots had overthrown the establishment. And as far as Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers of America are concerned, Belichick’s accomplishment was far too impressive to bestow Coach of the Year honors on anybody else. It’s the second time he has won the award, with his first coming in 2003.

“It’s an honor and something I appreciate,” said Belichick, after winning The Associated Press’ version of the award. “I think there are some great coaches in this league. I think there are some guys that have done really fantastic jobs at their teams, so it’s really an honor to be selected.”

Ironically, the seeds for the historic season were sewn in the most heartbreaking of situations. On Jan. 21, 2007, the Patriots were on the verge of punching their ticket to Super Sunday, leading the Colts by 18 points in the AFC championship game. Yet the Patriots couldn’t hold on, and in the aftermath of the 38-34 loss, they realized they needed more weapons to compete with the boys from Indy.

So, with the help of right-hand man Scott Pioli, PFW/PFWA’s Executive of the Year, the Patriots bolstered their roster by providing QB Tom Brady with wide receivers comparable, if not superior, to those whom Peyton Manning had to work with. They also signed the league’s most versatile linebacker, Adalius Thomas, to upgrade a tired defense.

The additions seamlessly meshed with the cogs already in place. The offense received the lion’s share of the adulation as it racked up the majority of the Pats’ NFL-record 589 points, but the defense was outstanding as well, finishing fourth in yards allowed per game.

“The guy puts a lot of time and effort in,” SS Rodney Harrison said of his coach. “He sacrifices a lot, and he works extremely hard. (Coach of the Year) is definitely well deserved. To be able to bring a group of guys together and keep them focused for 16 weeks just shows what type of leader he is. He’s a tremendous leader, just the best coach I’ve ever been involved with.”

That week-by-week approach Harrison alluded to has become a hallmark of Belichick’s tenure in New England. It might be “Super Bowl or bust” from the perspective of everyone watching them, but Belichick’s meticulous preparation for each successive opponent has been needed in the perfect run. As the quartet of aforementioned single-digit victories showed, having elite player talent isn’t all that’s needed to achieve perfection.

“I’ll tell you, players never stop playing and coaches never stop coaching,” Harrison said. “I’ve probably learned more in my five years here about football than I learned in my previous nine years. That just shows a lot to the fact that they bring up so many different situations.”

Take the Colts game — which the Patriots won 28-24 — for example. Where many coaches are hesitant to tinker with a defense operating as efficiently as New England’s, Belichick felt that a traditional defensive game plan wouldn’t be successful against Manning. So Belichick abandoned his base 3-4 scheme and went to a four-man front throughout the game to help collapse the pocket. His sub packages were altered, as well, exemplified by the nickel defense going from a 3-3-5 alignment to a 4-2-5.

As would be expected from the most successful organization in the NFL, Belichick has seen his coaching staff raided. In the last several years, Notre Dame nabbed offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, the Browns took defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and the Jets took defensive coordinator Mangini.

Thus, Belichick forged ahead, with his offensive (Josh McDaniels) and defensive (Dean Pees) lieutenants having served for just one season as NFL coordinators. Yet Belichick had no reservations about entrusting his assistants with helping to devise game plans.

“One of the strengths of Bill is he delegates to people that he respects and people that do a good job,” Pioli said. “Bill’s a very good listener, and he’s very active in the give-and-take.”

Belichick may not be overly affable, but his historic campaign furthers his rank as the standard-bearer of coaching excellence. 

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Links to 2007 PFW/PFWA awards