New England Patriots

Bill Belichick: Excellence unparalleled

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:09 p.m. ET

Fansided, Matt Verderame/Fansided

On Sunday night, the AFC Championship will be decided. If the Pittsburgh Steelers win, it’s an opportunity for Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin to add to their legacies in the Steel City. If the New England Patriots win, it gives us another chance to discuss Bill Belichick’s greatness.

With a victory, Belichick will be coaching in his ninth Super Bowl, seventh as a head coach. He has put together one of the greatest dynasties in professional sports history, transcending both game and continent. New England has already reach six Super Bowls under Belichick, spanning from 2001 to the present day. A seventh would only pad a record that no coach has ever approached, and likely never will.

One can talk about Belichick in angered or disillusioned tunes. They can reference SpyGate and DeflateGate, firing out narratives that the Patriots — and therefore their coach — are cheaters. If someone wants to take that tact, it’s an opening Belichick and his organization provided. They will all have to live with that the rest of their lives.

If one can look past that imperfection, than Belichick must be examined with a brighter light. No, he is not the innovator that Paul Brown was. He’s not the offensive mind that Bill Walsh or Sid Gillman were. He’s definitely not the motivator that Vince Lombardi was. Yet he’s the greatest winner of all time, surpassed by no one.