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Bill Belichick
Date of birth	April 16, 1952 (age 54)
Place of birth	Nashville, Tennessee
Position(s)	Head Coach
College	Wesleyan University
Career Highlights
Career Record	111-81-0 (Regular Season) 13-3 (Postseason) 124-84-0 (Overall)
Super Bowl       Wins	2004 Super Bowl XXXIX 2003 Super Bowl XXXVIII 2001 Super Bowl XXXVI
Championships       Won	2004 AFC Championship 2003 AFC Championship 2001 AFC Championship
Coaching Stats	Pro Football Reference
Coaching Stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1976 1977-1978 1979-1983 1984-1990 1991-1995 1996 1997-1999 2000-Present	Detroit Lions (Special Teams Coach) Denver Broncos (Special Teams Coach) New York Giants (Linebackers Coach) New York Giants (Defensive Coordinator) Cleveland Browns (Head Coach) New England Patriots (Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Backs Coach) New York Jets (Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator) New England Patriots (Head Coach)

William Stephen Belichick (born April 16, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee) is the American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Known for his elaborate defensive schemes and business-like coaching style, Belichick achieved great success as the coach of the Patriots, winning 3 Super Bowls as head coach (Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX).

Contents 1 Early life 2 Assistant Coach 3 Head Coach 3.1 Cleveland Browns 3.2 New England Patriots (as Assistant Head Coach) 3.3 New York Jets 3.4 New England Patriots 4 Coaching tree 5 Family Life 6 Philanthropy 7 Trivia 8 References and notes 9 External links

Belichick was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Annapolis, Maryland where his father was an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating from Annapolis High School he attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts for a postgraduate year. Upon his graduation from Phillips, Belichick attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where he played center/tight end. In addition to being a member of the football team, he also played lacrosse and squash, serving as the captain of the lacrosse team during his senior season. He is a member of Chi Psi fraternity and graduated in 1975 with a degree in economics.

After graduating, he took a $25-per-week job as a coaching assistant with the NFL's Baltimore Colts and began his pro football education. He then became a special teams coach with the Detroit Lions (1976) and the Denver Broncos (1977-78) before joining the staff of the New York Giants and head coach Ray Perkins in 1979. He eventually became linebackers coach and later defensive coordinator under head coach Bill Parcells, who had replaced Perkins in 1983. The Giants won Super Bowls following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.

His defensive game plan from the New York Giants' 20-19 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as is his defensive game plan from the New England Patriots 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI (although he was a head coach at this time).

From 1991 until 1995, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. During his tenure in Cleveland he compiled a 36-44 record, leading the team to a sole playoff win in 1994. Many fans in Cleveland think of him as an uncommunicative, dictatorial and arrogant coach who benched and then cut much-beloved quarterback Bernie Kosar in 1993 in order to replace him with journeyman Vinny Testaverde, a move that sparked great controversy in the area. In Belichick's last season in Cleveland the Browns finished 5-11. In November of that year, Browns owner Art Modell announced he would move the team to Baltimore after the season, which cut the legs out from under the already struggling team.^[1]

After leaving Cleveland, Belichick served under Parcells again as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the Patriots for the 1996 season. The Patriots finished with an 11-5 record, won the AFC championship, but lost to the Green Bay Packers at Super Bowl XXXI.

Soon after Super Bowl XXXI, Belichick (and most of the Patriots assistant coaches) migrated with Parcells to the New York Jets. Belichick served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Jets from 1997 to 1999. When Parcells stepped down as head coach in 1999, Belichick became the new Jets head coach. However, Belichick's introduction to the media the following day turned out to be a surprise resignation announcement. Before taking the podium, he scrawled a resignation note on a sheet of loose leaf paper that read, in its entirety, "I resign as HC of the NYJ." He then delivered a rambling half-hour speech explaining his resignation to the assembled press corps. ^[2]

Shortly afterward, he accepted an offer from the Patriots to become their new head coach, who had previously tried to hire him away from the Jets. Parcells and the Jets claimed that Belichick was still under contract, and demanded compensation from the Patriots. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreed, and the Patriots gave the Jets a first-round draft pick in 2000 in exchange for the right to hire Belichick.^[3]

Bill Belichick was named New England Patriots head coach in 2000, succeeding Pete Carroll. He went 5-11 that year. Having learned from his mistakes in Cleveland he was much better prepared to be head coach.

2001 Season:
New England Patriots went 11-5 in the regular season, and upset the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on the way to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXXVI, he was able to stop the St. Louis Rams' high-powered offense and his team beat the heavily favored Rams.

2002 Season:
New England Patriots went 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

2003 Season:
New England Patriots season started disastrously when they were blown out 31-0 by Buffalo Bills in week 1 a few days after they released team defense captain Lawyer Milloy. Tom Jackson of ESPN claimed that "They (the Pats' players) hate their coach. The team went on to win 14 out of their remaining 15 games, and shut down the Titans in the AFC Divisional round. Playing against the Colts and Co-MVP Peyton Manning (Steve McNair of the Titans was also Co-MVP) the Pats recorded 4 interceptions, and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29 on a late Adam Vinatieri field goal.

2004 Season:
New England Patriots once again went 14-2, and defeated the Colts in the AFC divisional round. They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. In Super Bowl XXXIX the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles and became only the second team to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 Years. Belichick is the only coach to accomplish this feat. Charlie Weis left for Notre Dame following the game, and Romeo Crennel became the head coach of the Browns.

2005 Season:
With a new defensive coordinator - Eric Mangini and no named offensive coordinator, New England Patriots went 10-6 and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round before losing to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.

2006 Season:
New England Patriots went 12-4 and defeated the New York Jets in the Wild Card round. They then upset the San Diego Chargers the next week, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl XLI winner Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game 38-34. The Patriots led 21-3 mid-way during the second quarter, and the Colts comeback was the largest in Championship game history.

Overall Record in New England:
Under Belichick, the Patriots have gone 75-37 in 7 seasons. The team has also gone 12-2 in the playoffs, and 3-0 in Super Bowls. they have also won 4 straight division titles (2003-2006) and 5 overall. The Patriots have also never lost to a regular season MVP in the playoffs (Kurt Warner in SB XXXVI, Peyton Manning and Steve McNair after the 2003 season, Peyton Manning in 2004, LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006).

Belichick won the NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2003.

As of February 14, 2007, seven members of Belichick's "coaching tree" were head coaches of either other NFL teams or NCAA Division I football programs:

• Romeo Crennel for the Cleveland Browns
• Eric Mangini for the New York Jets
• Nick Saban at the University of Alabama
• Charlie Weis at the University of Notre Dame
• Kirk Ferentz at the University of Iowa
• Al Groh at the University of Virginia
• Pat Hill at Fresno State University

In addition, eight former Belichick assistants now serve as coordinators, assistant head coaches, or executives for teams around the league:

• Josh McDaniels offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots
• Dean Pees defensive coordinator for the Patriots
• Scott Pioli Vice President of Player Personnel for the Patriots
• Phil Savage General Manager for the Cleveland Browns
• Rob Ryan defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders
• Jim Schwartz defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans
• Jim Bates assistant head coach of the Denver Broncos
• Jeff Davidson offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers

Belichick has been known to cultivate ties with the collegiate branches of his coaching tree: in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted two players from Fresno State, while in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Patriots drafted one Notre Dame player, and then signed two more as free agents after the draft.

In addition, Belichick is a devoted student of the game; during the offseason, he has spent significant amounts of time visiting with other programs to learn from their experiences. For example, he has studied the Navy run offense, and spent time with Jimmy Johnson to learn about drafting and contract negotiations.^{[citation needed]} Similarly, in recent years, he has paid several visits to University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer.^{[citation needed]} Meyer considers himself a protégé of Belichick,^{[citation needed]} and has tried to emulate Belichick's success at New England, so many Patriots fans were not surprised when two Florida players were drafted in 2006 (Chad Jackson and Jeremy Mincey, and another three were signed as free agents (in addition to two other Gator alumni already on the roster).

Belichick was married to Debby, but was divorced in the summer of 2006.^[4] They separated before the 2004 season, which was disclosed by New England Patriots in July 2005. Belichick has three children, Amanda, Stephen and Bryan. Amanda is a student at Wesleyan University, where her father went to college. Stephen is a standout lacrosse player who will attend Rutgers in 2007 on scholarship.

Belichick is a Croatian American. His father, the late Steve Belichick (born Steven Beličić), played for the Detroit Lions and was an assistant coach and scout with the United States Naval Academy football team for 33 years. Bill reportedly learned to break down game films at a young age by watching his father and the Navy staff do their jobs.^[5] His paternal grandparents Ivan Beličić and Marija (Mary) Barković emigrated from Karlovac, Croatia in the late 1890s.

Steve Belichick was an advisor on the sidelines of the Patriots through the 2004 NFL season, and was famous for taking a hit accidentally from Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown in a game in 2000; he was not hurt in the incident.

^{[citation needed]}

The Belichicks have been long-time advocates and contributors to charities. While in Cleveland, they launched a charitable foundation in their names. The foundation benefited the Zelma George Home, a shelter for homeless women and children. In 2001, they established the Bill and Debby Belichick Scholarship, an annual stipend awarded to an Annapolis High School senior for academic and athletic achievement.

Annually, Coach Belichick generously donates time and money to support charities. In 2006, he presented the first ever Steve Belichick Award in conjunction with the Annapolis Touchdown Club. The award, presented in the name of Coach Belichick's father, a longtime Naval Academy assistant coach, honors an Annapolis resident deeply involved in sports without seeking a spotlight for their achievements. Coach Belichick was a keynote speaker at the Frank McGuire Foundation's 2006 coaching seminar, addressing 600 New York-area high school coaches. In 2004, he participated in the Samsung's Four Season's of Hope annual fundraising gala, where he introduced longtime friend Jon Bon Jovi to a list of honorees that included Joe Torre, Arnold Palmer, Magic Johnson and Boomer Esiason. The starstudded affair raised over $500,000 to aid children and families in need. In 2003, he was honored by RoxComp and presented with the "Healthy Living Award." He has participated in Eric Mangini's annual Football Fundamentals Mini-Camp in Hartford, Conn. He is also a supporter of Hall of Famer Jim Brown's Amer-I-Can Foundation and has made speeches and appearances for Brown's foundation.

Since becoming Patriots head coach, Coach Belichick has participated in dozens of community events, including the March of Dimes Walk America, the Rodman Ride for Kids, the Roxbury Comprehensive (RoxComp) Community Center's Reading is the Best Medicine Program and the Mayors Cup Regatta on the Charles River to benefit AccesSportAmerica, a charity dedicated to fitness of children and adults with disabilities. He is a supporter of the Pawtucket Police Athletic League. He has also participated in several events benefiting the Lazarus House, a non-profit charity serving the homeless of Merrimack Valley.

The above section was from his profile on Patriots.com

• Belichick had a cameo appearance in an episode of the Denis Leary drama Rescue Me as a mourner at a funeral, alongside former Boston Bruin Phil Esposito. Belichick is also a good friend of Rescue Me cast member and comedian Lenny Clarke.

• On the October 30, 2006 installment of ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, he was featured in a makeover spoof with quarterback Tom Brady, which was done by the three main characters from Ugly Betty (America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade, and Becki Newton as Amanda).^[6] The end result: A photo of Belichick as "Ugly Bill!"

• In the Madden game series his name is not used and is known as NE Coach because he's not a member of NFLHCA (NFL Head Coaches Association) which licenses the game. This also used to apply to Bill Parcells who was known as DAL Coach, because he had been under contract with ESPN.

• Belichick is well known as a fan of the rock band Bon Jovi, who visited Patriots training camp on August 14, 2006.^[7]

• NFL.com profile
• Patriots.com - official team website
• Coaching history
• Coaching record at pro-football-reference.com
• All Things Bill Belichick

Preceded by Pete Carroll	New England Patriots Head Coach 2000–present	Succeeded by Current coach
Preceded by Bud Carson	Cleveland Browns Head Coach 1991–1995	Succeeded by Chris Palmer
Preceded by Brian Billick	Super Bowl winning Head Coaches Super Bowl XXXVI, 2002	Succeeded by Jon Gruden
Preceded by Jon Gruden	Super Bowl winning Head Coaches Super Bowl XXXVIII, 2004 Super Bowl XXXIX, 2005	Succeeded by Bill Cowher
Preceded by Andy Reid	NFL Coach of the Year Award 2003	Succeeded by Marty Schottenheimer

Boston/New England Patriots Head Coaches
Saban • Holovak • Rush • Mazur • Bengtson • Fairbanks • Erhardt • Meyer • Berry • Rust • MacPherson • Parcells • Carroll • Belichick

Current Head Coaches of the National Football League
American Football Conference
East	North	South	West
Jauron (Buffalo)	Billick (Baltimore)	Kubiak (Houston)	Shanahan (Denver)
Cameron (Miami)	Lewis (Cincinnati)	Dungy (Indianapolis)	Edwards (Kansas City)
Belichick (New England)	Crennel (Cleveland)	Del Rio (Jacksonville)	Kiffin (Oakland)
Mangini (NY Jets)	Tomlin (Pittsburgh)	Fisher (Tennessee)	Turner (San Diego)
National Football Conference
East	North	South	West
Phillips (Dallas)	Smith (Chicago)	Petrino (Atlanta)	Whisenhunt (Arizona)
Coughlin (NY Giants)	Marinelli (Detroit)	Fox (Carolina)	Linehan (St. Louis)
Reid (Philadelphia)	McCarthy (Green Bay)	Payton (New Orleans)	Nolan (San Francisco)
Gibbs (Washington)	Childress (Minnesota)	Gruden (Tampa Bay)	Holmgren (Seattle)