FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When it comes to significant days on the New England sports calendar, this one is right up there.
Happy Bill Belichick Day, everyone.
Seventeen years ago on this date, Jan. 27, Belichick was hired as head coach of the New England Patriots. Officially, he was acquired in a trade from the New York Jets along with fifth- and seventh-round draft choices in exchange for first-, fourth- and seventh-round picks.
Today, he is widely regarded as the NFL’s top coach, and the decision to acquire him was a stroke of genius by owner Robert Kraft. But the reviews from Jan. 27, 2000, weren’t exactly overflowing with praise.
One headline from the Boston Globe the following day read: “Fans weren’t bowled over by the news.”
In that article, some lamented that the Patriots didn’t land Dom Capers as head coach and Tom Donohoe as general manager. They were two of the candidates who were under serious consideration at the time, with other coaches such as Marvin Lewis, Willie Shaw, Steve Sidwell and Gary Crowton having interviewed.
In another Boston Globe story on the hiring of Belichick, the headline read: “Mixed reviews from around the league.”
Reporter Bob Duffy interviewed various NFL folks at Super Bowl XXXIV -- which was three days away between the Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams -- and wrote that “the deal drew mixed reviews, with some saying the price of a No. 1 draft pick for Belichick was too high.”
Today, Belichick is preparing the Patriots to play in their seventh Super Bowl in his 17-year tenure, with the Atlanta Falcons awaiting them at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Feb. 5.
His seven conference titles are the most of any head coach in the Super Bowl era, breaking a tie with Don Shula. Meanwhile, Belichick's four Super Bowl victories match Chuck Noll for the most by a head coach, and his 25 playoff wins (one came with Cleveland in 1994 over the Patriots) are the most ever by a head coach.
Looking back on the day he was introduced as Patriots head coach, Belichick showed his humorous side by saying in his opening remarks, “Hopefully this press conference will go better than the last one I had.”
He was referring to his resignation as head coach of the Jets.
He then talked about what he hoped to do differently compared to his first head-coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995.
“Previously, I think I maybe tried to do too many little things, too many things that maybe took away from bigger-picture things that I should’ve been doing,” he said. “I’ve learned that as much as the game is played on the field -- and it’s extremely important to do everything right when you reach the football field in order to win in this league -- there are also a lot of things on the periphery and outside, off the field, that are also important toward winning. I’ll put more time and effort into making sure those things are right for the organization than maybe I did previously.”
That has worked out well for Belichick and the Patriots, of course.
As for the rest of the NFL, there have been 167 total head coaches (interim included) since Belichick was hired. The Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders have contributed most to that list, with 10 apiece over that span.
On the day Belichick was hired, Kraft said, “He has an intimate knowledge of our team, intimate knowledge of our players and our division. People devise defensive schemes based on his success. He’s the most capable person at this point to help us win next year.”
As it turned out, it has been the next 17 years and counting.