Bill Belichick is widely considered to be the greatest coach in NFL history. His 298 wins are third most all time, and is only 31 away from surpassing the legendary Don Shula for the top spot. Surely a coach with 19 trips to the playoffs, 17 division titles, nine AFC Championships and six Super Bowls is beyond criticism…
…or is he? If you ask former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, Belichick should probably be catching a little more heat than he does.
Buy Seahawks TicketsSherman is a co-host on FS1’s Undisputed, and on Friday’s show, he decided to shine some light on Belichick’s recent history. Overall legacy aside, if we’re looking at what Belichick and the Patriots have accomplished as of late, it’s not exactly stellar.
Video: Richard Sherman says Bill Belichick doesn't get criticized like other coaches for his mistakes
He says people used to think Belichick made Brady but then Brady left and won a SB without him
Bill has been under .500 sincepic.twitter.com/CA6ylStR8Bhttps://t.co/eHGCmAeNCw
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 1, 2023
Sherman is right. In the three years since Tom Brady took his talents to Tampa Bay, the Patriots have gone a perfectly mediocre 25-25 in his absence. The first year they were 7-9, and in 2022 they were 8-9.
The lone winning season, 2021, New England went 10-7 but were obliterated 47-17 by the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots allowed every single Buffalo drive (aside from the end of the game) to result in a touchdown. New England, led by their coach known for his legendary defensive prowess, never once forced a turnover from Josh Allen of all quarterbacks, forced a punt, or at the very least held the Bills to a field goal.
Sherman also raises an outstanding point with the debacle the Patriots had at offensive coordinator last season, having Matt Patricia and Joe Judge split responsibilities. Not only were both men colossal failures as head coaches, neither were offensive coordinators before! Patricia was a defensive coach and Judge was special teams/wide receivers. Belichick’s insistence on not making a switch before the end of the year was quite the head scratcher to say the very least.
Ultimately, I can give you six, diamond-encrusted reasons why Belichick is shielded from criticism other coaches would get – and he needs two hands to wear them. However, the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” type of league. Six rings buys you more than plenty of slack, but it’s not infinite. Eventually, the leash gets taut.
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