Analyzing the spotty history of Bill Belichick's coaching tree
After the Eagles had a lengthy interview with Josh McDaniels on Sunday, it's time to take a closer look at the Bill Belichick coaching tree. By Dave Zangaro
The Eagles had a lengthy interview with Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida.
McDaniels, 44, was a hot name on the circuit just a few years ago but he backed out on his second chance when he spurned the Colts after they hired him in 2018. Because of that and a couple down offensive seasons, McDaniels’ star has fallen in recent years.
McDaniels has won six Super Bowls with the Patriots and has led a successful offense in the NFL. But he has also failed as a head coach before.
And he’s just one blemish on a really hit-or-miss record for former Bill Belichick assistants.
As of Nov. 28, former Belichick assistants had a record of 208-296-1 (.413) in the NFL, according to ESPN.
Let’s take a closer look at the Belichick tree:
With Belichick: 1985-90 with Giants; 1996 with Patriots; 1997-99 with Jets; 2001-04 with Patriots
RAC was already with the Giants when Belichick arrived in 1985. He spent nearly a decade as a special teams coach before moving back to defensive line. He was Belichick’s DL coach with the Jets and became his defensive coordinator during those early years in New England. Crennel was the Browns head coach from 2005-08, then became the Chiefs interim head coach in 2011 and had the job full-time in 2012. And after coaching for the Texans, became the interim again for them in 2020. The record … isn’t great.
NFL head coaching record: 32-63 (.337)
With Belichick: 1989-90 with Giants; 1992 with Browns; 1996 with Patriots; 1997-1999 with Jets
The father of former Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh, Al Groh coached linebackers under Belichick with the Giants and the Browns. Groh was a longtime college coach before his time in the NFL; he was the head coach at Wake Forest from 1981-86. In 2000, he was the Jets’ head coach for one season before he resigned and took over at Virginia.
NFL head coaching record: 9-7 (.563); Virginia coaching record: 59-53 (.527)
With Belichick: 1990 with Giants; 1996 with Patriots; 1997-1999 with Jets; 2000-04 with Patriots
Weis was the Jets’ offensive coordinator during the late 90s when Belichick was their defensive coordinator. And Weis was Belichick’s OC for the first five years in New England before taking the head coaching job at Notre Dame. Weis lasted five seasons at Notre Dame posting a 35-27 record. He was then the OC for the Chiefs for a year, Florida for a year and then was the head coach at Kansas from 2012-14. He hasn’t coached since.
College head coaching record: 41-49 (.456)
With Belichick: 1991-94 with Browns
Saban spent four seasons as Belichick’s defensive coordinator during the Cleveland years. From there, he became the head coach at Michigan State, LSU, Miami Dolphins and has obviously had a tremendous run at Alabama since 2007. He was the Dolphins’ head coach from 2005-06.
NFL head coaching record: 15-17 (.469); college coaching record: 261-65-1 (.800)
With Belichick: 1993-95 with Browns
For three seasons during the Cleveland years, Ferentz was the Browns’ offensive line coach. He then went to Baltimore as their OL coach and eventually offensive coordinator. He has been the head coach at Iowa since 1999.
College coaching record: 168-106 (.613)
With Belichick: 1993-95 with Browns
Maybe this one is a bit of a stretch. Schwartz wasn’t technically on the coaching staff in Cleveland but he was a personnel scout back then. He eventually became a coach with the Ravens and then Titans. In 2009, he became the Lions head coach. Obviously, he ended up in Philly as the DC and was on the winning side against Belichick in Super Bowl LII.
NFL head coaching record: 29-51 (.363)
With Belichick: 1995 with Browns; 1997-99 with Jets; 2000-05 with Patriots
Mangini got his coaching start with Belichick in Cleveland and eventually became the Patriots’ defensive coordinator in 2005 before taking over as the Jets’ head coach in 2006. He lasted three years in New York before Cleveland hired him for the 2009-10 seasons. Mangini wasn’t very successful but he actually had winning records in two of his three seasons with the Jets.
NFL head coaching record: 33-47 (.413)
With Belichick: 2001-2008 with Patriots; 2012-present with Patriots
There’s no question that McDaniels has had a ton of success with the Patriots as their offensive coordinator but his first chance to be a head coach didn’t go well. McDaniels was the Broncos’ head coach in 2009-10 and didn’t even make it out of his second seasons. Since rejoining the Patriots in 2012, the Patriots have the No. 2 offense in the NFL.
NFL head coaching record: 11-17 (.393)
With Belichick: Played for Belichick 2001-08 with Patriots
Vrabel is the only guy on this list who technically hasn’t coached for Belichick but he was sort of a player/coach during his time in New England anyway. And Vrabel got his NFL coaching start under Crennel in Houston. Since getting hired by Tennessee in 2018, Vrabel has had a lot of success.
NFL head coaching record: 29-19 (.604)
With Belichick: 2004-2017 with Patriots
Patricia began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots as an offensive assistant in 2004 and began working his way up. He coached OL, linebackers and safeties before taking the DC job in 2012. He held that position until he took the Lions’ head coaching job in 2018. Patricia lasted less than three years in Detroit before being fired during the 2020 season.
NFL coaching record: 13-29-1 (.314)
With Belichick: 2007-11 with Patriots
After O’Brien joined the Pats in 2007 as an offensive assistant he coached receivers, QBs and was the OC for one season before heading to Penn State. He did a really impressive job leading Penn State through a tough time and then took the Houston Texans job in 2014. O’Brien wasn’t a bad coach but certainly changed the dynamic in Houston and really failed as a general manager. He got fired in 2020 and is heading to Alabama to work for Saban in 2021.
NFL head coaching record: 52-48 (.520); college head coaching record: 15-9 (.625)
With Belichick: 2008-18 with Patriots
Flores was just 22 when he joined the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2004. He eventually joined the coaching staff in 2008, coaching in all three phases. He coached safeties from 2012-15 and linebackers from 2016-18 before taking the Dolphins’ head coaching job in 2019. It looks like things are heading in the right direction in Miami. After a five-win season in 2019, the Dolphins won 10 games in 2020.
NFL head coaching record: 15-17 (.469)
With Belichick: 2012-19 with Patriots
Judge spent a few seasons as a special teams assistant under Saban at Alabama before joining the Pats in 2012 as a special teams assistant. He took over as their special teams coordinator and in 2019 coached special teams and receiver. The Giants hired him in 2020. They won just six games in 2020 but played hard and got better as the year went on.
NFL head coaching record: 6-10 (.375)
