A former New York Giants assistant coach has set the standard by which all future NFL head coaches will be judged.
Unfortunately, Bill Belichick set that standard with the New England Patriots, not the New York Giants, which certainly could have been his destiny. But life isn’t about the predetermined outcome, so Belichick went to Foxboro, under strange circumstances, and then became the greatest professional football coach in the history of the game.
Sports talking heads like to opine about Tom Brady being the greatest quarterback of all time. He may very well be, but let’s also add Peyton Manning, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas to the discussion.
Right now, even the old school supporters of George Halas, Bill Walsh or Vince Lombardi make only specious arguments in favor of their guy. Let there be no doubt that Belichick has become the greatest NFL coach of all-time.
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In fact, detractors curiously use Belichick’s unprecedented longevity with the Patriots against him. In a profession that has seen more than its share of burn-out, this Bill still burns brightly. He is as effective as he was the first day he took over the New England Patriots.
One of his initial mentors, Bill Parcells, plied his craft with four different franchises along the way, with his patience seemingly getting shorter at every stop. To do what Belichick has done with one-team over a 19-year period is absolutely unheard of.
His career has taken on such a trajectory, that the two titles that he won as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants are mere afterthoughts now. And remember, he was not just holding a clipboard for Parcells in those days, he was the brains behind those defensive game plans.
Familiarity breeds contempt, and perhaps that’s how old foe, Tom Coughlin, was able to muster up the ability to beat Belichick twice in the big game. As time goes on, that feat alone should get Coughlin a ticket into Canton sometime relatively soon.
Those Super Bowl losses are mere glitches on Belichick’s record. Perhaps, they are a reminder to the rest of us that no one wins every competition.
Yet to think the New York Giants had a front seat to this greatness, and some way, somehow, turned a potential dynasty into the utterly forgettable Ray Handley era remains one of life’s unsolved mysteries.
The excuses about how that occurred organically don’t pass the smell test.
Face it, there’s absolutely no reason for Belichick to go backwards, life has turned out fine just for him. Others, like Parcells and owner John Mara, have some explaining to do, although when you bungle up something as badly as they did back in 1991, the only strategy worth employing may be to sweep it under the rug.
Some in the fanbase are content with scoring rhetorical points by fostering the idea that the Giants franchise spawned this greatness. It isn’t wrong, but it’s also the kind of consolation prize that defenders of the status quo embrace.
Let’s face facts, letting your prize assistant coach escape under the conditions that ultimately led Belichick to the Pats was as reckless as reckless can be. It manifested itself either through ignorance or ego on the part of the New York Giants.
Ironically, Big Blue did the same thing with both Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi previously. Maybe something in the Mara family DNA can’t see the forest for the trees.
Almost three decades later, we continue to see Belichick lift Lombardi Trophy after Lombardi Trophy, while Ray Handley disappeared off the face of the NFL immediately after his ill-fated New York Giants tenure.
When we post articles that fail to extol the virtues of Big Blue and its players at every turn, understand why and remember this article. Vin Scully used to say, “Good is not good enough when better is expected.”