Is Belichick Best Coach Ever?

[Martel13]

Do we have to look at a Belicheat thread in the main forum? I get it, theres nothing else good to discuss right now but he's the last thing I wanna see when I come here

 

[Good_Dylan]

Do we have to look at a Belicheat thread in the main forum? I get it, theres nothing else good to discuss right now but he's the last thing I wanna see when I come here

I agree...and most giving the proven cheater props at that (spit) ....it seems like Stockholm syndrome has taken root on here.

News flash fellow Fins followers...His star QB is JUST coming back off a 4 game cheating suspension . That being just the latest of many years of accusations going back to spygate where evidence was destroyed to prevent proof in the pudding.

I say...Snap out of it and NEVER even think this guy is special , much less write it. The NE franchise has always hit low even in Shula's day (Sweeping the field of snow for their kicker?)

Get over it....Belicheck IS THE DEVIL and NE's one of the reasons the NFL ratings are so far down this year. Robert Kraft would field a winning team with that clown Ronald Mcdonald wearing the headset. How much fun is there in knowing a team will dominate its division & scare the SB EVERY season? Even with backup scrubs they roll competetion and that is not because of some coaching brainiac...YAWN

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I think it's more telling he couldn't win anything with Marino. He absolutely failed Marino.

That was disappointing. I think Shula changed his entire philosophy when Marino came along and got away from the power running game that was his bread and butter. Also, the NFC had some real powerhouses at the time so it was a tough task.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Among those I've seen, I would say Belichick first followed by Walsh. I love Lombardi's approach but I was old enough to follow only the final couple of years with the Packers. That's not enough to make a full assessment.

Shula definitely slots below those three, IMO. He was the ultimate hard worker but no threat of brilliant. There were many games, for example, in which a radically different game plan than the norm was proper, given the opponent. Walsh and especially Belichick would understand that and implement. It would never occur to Shula. Keep in mind two of my closest friends growing up were sons of Dolphin assistant coaches during the glory era. They confirmed that little changed week to week. Shula also loses major points by veering to a pantyhose passing approach under Marino, parallel to the brute NFC teams coached by Parcells, Gibbs, and Ditka, along with Walsh. It was always comical that the Dolphins were so highly rated during those '80s years. Which one of those NFC powers were we supposed to defeat, had we ever advanced to the Super Bowl again? Mangle mangle.

If we're going to doubt Belichick based on Brady, I'll point out that Shula enjoyed three Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Unitas, Griese and Marino. It seems to be a common denominator throughout that coaching list. Yet currently we emphasize the need to fortify the team as a whole and accept the quarterback we have now. Interesting.

Good point on the quarterback. Could certainly say the coaching helped the quarterback, but I agree with you there.

Shula's super bowls also bring him down a notch. True, he got there and nearly won with Woodley. That, and not the 1972 season, was Shula's best coaching feat IMO. Miami lost, 24-3, to Dallas and, 38-16, to San Francisco. Maybe that ties into not changing the game plan a bit. The west coast offense was designed, in part, to beat the bend but don't break type defenses. Yes? Could Miami have gone blitz crazy and attacked the 49ers differently?

Again, this doesn't mean Shula wasn't great. He demanded so much from his players and game in and game out you knew Miami would compete. He was fired/retired (whatever you believe) after a 9-7 season. The Dolphins never hit rock bottom with Shula there.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Maybe, but come back to me when he loses his Hall of Fame QB and has to change his entire offense long term to a totally different style and scheme.

You mean like this very season in week 2 vs our very own Fins when Brady was out, Garrapollo got hurt, had to start Brisset and immediately reverted back IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME to his old Navy roots using the T-form with counter options, bootlegs, and traps?

Also realize that Belichick has NEVER run one specific offensive scheme. In Brady's early years, he built the offense to support him with dependable receivers and a physical run game. As Brady matured then, and only then, did he become the centerpiece and it was still ever evolving with dual TE five wide sets. Now days as Brady has gotten older and possesses less physical talent you see the them use 12, 21, and 22 personnel.

The dude is a MF'n genius.

 

[Vaark]

That's questionable, however I would concede that he's the "Most Successful Cheating-Ass HC" in the history of the league.

 

[Mogwai]

At some integrity has got to count for something. I could never put belichick over Shula.

 

[tay0365]

No way of actually knowing, though he has proven he does not really need to, he tends to take the unsavory path to give him an edge over opponents.

Personally, if both Shula and Belichick started with the same talent level, and both teams played straight up, no tricks or dishonest tactics, Shula would take it far more then Belichick. There are very few HC that have been a better game day Coach then Shula, he was the true Chess grandmaster when it came to football.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

That's questionable, however I would concede that he's the "Most Successful Cheating-Ass HC" in the history of the league.

After a game in 1986, Philadelphia Eagle head coach Buddy Ryan accused Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula of using illegal tactics to gain an advantage. Shula was accused of putting 15 men in the huddle, then sending some back to the sidelines at the last minute to confuse the opponents.

Said Ryan, "He was just trying to make us look bad. He was trying to fool us. I don't mind him beating me, but damn, let's do it within the rules. Everybody's got to play by the same rules."

According to Ryan, "the ploy had been legislated out of the game more than a decade ago, but no action was taken to prevent Shula from using it. The Eagles coach estimated that Miami had employed the tactic about 18 times in the course of the contest."

 

[xSxPxHx]

Gase is..

 

[utahphinsfan]

I'd give Shula the nod over Bill B.

Because, Shula had success in Baltimore whereas Bill in Cleveland... not so much

Best coach overall is either Lombardi or Walsh.

 

[nyjunc]

Didn't Shula reach SBs w/ 4 different QBs? meanwhile BB was a total failure as HC w/o Brady.

 

[Vaark]

After a game in 1986, Philadelphia Eagle head coach Buddy Ryan accused Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula of using illegal tactics to gain an advantage. Shula was accused of putting 15 men in the huddle, then sending some back to the sidelines at the last minute to confuse the opponents.

Said Ryan, "He was just trying to make us look bad. He was trying to fool us. I don't mind him beating me, but damn, let's do it within the rules. Everybody's got to play by the same rules."
According to Ryan, "the ploy had been legislated out of the game more than a decade ago, but no action was taken to prevent Shula from using it. The Eagles coach estimated that Miami had employed the tactic about 18 times in the course of the contest."

That's one piece of trickery against a slew of Belicheatery. Like someone else pointed out, just with DUIs, for every time a perp is apprehended, there are multiples of that where he's gone undetected. So considering how much we already know, either Belicheat is an unsuccessful cheater or a serial one. What we can be pretty certain of is that Belicheat is a much bigger POS than Shula or most other successful coaches have ever been!

And as far as at least one of those SB "wins," just ask Marshall Faulk what he thinks.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Meh, I'm going with the Godfather of football (aka Gil Brandt) here over a bunch of bitter fans.