Even though some are trying to come up with arguments against it, Bill Belichick is widely considered as the best head coach in the NFL and one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time.
Despite leading the New England Patriots to six Super Bowls since taking over in 2000 and establishing the league’s only dynasty of the salary cap era, Belichick has only won the award three times — the last more than a decade ago.
Just look at it from the following perspective.
While arguments can be made for most of these coaches in the respective seasons, they themselves would probably name Belichick as the best coach in football each of those years.
The first is that Belichick has set the bar so high for himself that it is near impossible for him to clear it.
For Belichick to enter the Coach of the Year discussion again, he would have to have similar success — and not just that: he also would have to fend off challengers with more compelling stories.
Sean McVay’s victory in 2017 is a good example of that: he led the Rams to an 11-5 record, tied for fifth best in the NFL.
Coming off a disappointing 7-9 season in Year 1 after quarterback Tom Brady’s departure, Belichick has rebuilt his team.
While it remains to be seen whether or not the Patriots will indeed take advantage, a successful season would give Belichick a strong argument to be named Coach of the Year.
As he has shown time and again, his focus is on the here and now and on putting his club in the best position to win.