I was reading a book about investing recently that advised that just because an investor has success with their investing strategy, does not necessarily mean others can copy it and be successful. That brought to mind the fact that Bill Belichick is the greatest coach of all time, yet his numerous assistants that have been hired to implement the “Patriot Way,” continuously and spectacularly fail to do so with other organizations. The main complaint you hear about these coaches is that they try so hard to be like Bill, but it just doesn’t work for them.
On the flip side, you see the coaching trees of two of Belichick’s contemporaries, Mike Shanahan and Andy Reid, that are dominating the NFL right now. Shanahan and Reid are successful, Hall of Fame level coaches, but still have less Super Bowls combined than Bill does. It is an interesting tale in showing that the most successful strategy is not always the best one to learn from and replicate.
Bill’s Coaching Tree:
- Romeo Crennel: 32-63
- Brian Daboll (active): 15-19-1; 1-1 playoff record; 1-time AP Coach of the Year
- Brian Flores: 24-25
- Eric Mangini: 33-47; 0-1 playoff record
- Josh McDaniels: 20-33
- Bill O’Brien: 52-48; 2-4 playoff record
- Matt Patricia: 13-29-1
- Nick Saban: 15-17
- Jim Schwartz: 29-51; 0-1 playoff record
- Joe Judge: 10-23
- Jerrod Mayo (active): 1-0
- 3 other coaches combined: 13-18
- Total: 14 coaches; 257-373-1; 3-7 playoff record; 1-time AP Coach of the Year
- NOTE: Above records are the record of coaches after they have served on Bill’s staff. Any record before they coached for Bill is not included.
So far, 14 former assistant coaches have not come close to surpassing Bill’s career win total of 302 regular season wins and have barley made a dent in reaching his 31 playoff victories or 6 Super Bowls.
Jerrod Mayo and Brian Daboll are the only active coaches from Belichick’s tree. They also are coaching two of the worst teams in football so, short term, they probably won’t improve the overall success of Belichick’s tree. However, if they can rebuild their respective teams, they could become exceptions to the rule.
Mike’s tree:
- Gary Kubiak: 82-75; 5-2 playoff record; 1 Super Bowl
- Matt LaFleur (active): 56-28; 3-4 playoff record
- Mike McDaniel (active): 21-14; 0-2 playoff record
- Sean McVay (active): 70-46; 7-4 playoff record; 1 Super Bowl; 1 time AP COY
- Raheem Morris (active): 4-8
- Kyle Shanahan (active): 64-51; 8-4 playoff record;
- 3 other Coaches Combined: 91-90; 3-4 playoff record
- Total: 9 coaches; 388-312; 26-20 playoff record; 2 Super Bowls; 1 time AP COY
Andy’s tree:
- Todd Bowels (active): 42-57; 1-2 playoff record
- John Harbaugh (active): 160-100; 12-10 playoff record; 1 Super Bowl; 1 time AP COY
- Sean McDermott (active): 74-41; 5-6 playoff record
- Matt Nagy: 34-31; 0-2 playoff record; 1 time AP COY
- Doug Pederson (active): 60-54-1; 5-3 playoff record; 1 Super Bowl
- Ron Rivera: 102-103-2; 3-5 playoff record; 2 time AP COY
- 5 others combined: 94-167-1; 1-3 playoff record
- Total: 11 coaches; 566-553-4; 27-31 playoff record; 2 Super Bowls; 4 time AP COY
Andy and Mike’s trees account for 10 of the 32 active NFL coaches (including Andy). They have had multiple coaches win Super Bowls and have had their coaching trees well surpass their regular season and postseason win totals.
I think these coaches have tended to work when Bill’s don’t for a couple of reasons. Coming from the Patriots as a new head coach, there is so much pressure in terms of replicating what Bill has done. This already puts Bill’s coaches at a disadvantage because fans automatically compare them to Bill and the Patriots success. Rebuilding a team takes time and fans and ownership need patience.
Belichick is also such a unique coach in the sense that he knows so much about every aspect of football. He is the greatest defensive mind in NFL history, knows a ton about the offensive side of the ball, and has a great understanding of personnel and the salary cap. All this is nearly impossible for a former assistant to copy.
Lastly, Bill had total control of the Pats, as the HC and GM. Most head coaches do not have that kind of power. If a Belichick guy is hired as HC and the GM of their new team is not aligned with what the new coach thinks is the best way to build a roster, then the coach is doomed from the start.
It’s interesting to note that former Belichick coaches have fared much better in college. Saban is the greatest college coach of all time, while Pat Hill and Kirk Ferentz both have had a lot of success. This is likely due to the fact that college coaches have much more control of their team than NFL coaches do.
In terms of how the game has changed, most of Shanahan’s guys are genius offensive coaches, which is what most teams look for in new head coaches nowadays. The way they coach is made for today’s modern game. For Reid, he has produced great coaches on both sides of the ball. I think they learn from Andy how to mainly focus on coaching and work with the front office more than Patriots guys did since Bill was both the HC and the GM.
Maybe Daboll and Mayo will change the narrative. For the time being, Shanahan and Reid’s coaching philosophies are dominating the league and it likely won’t change soon.
Wheelhouse Blog 