Getty Bill Belichick looks on from the sidelines.
E
ven though Bill Belichick recently turned 70 years old, the New England Patriots head coach isn’t slowing down.
Belichick has entered elite company as just the fourth head coach in the NFL to coach into his 70s. George Halas, Marv Levy, and Pete Carroll were the three previous coaches to reach this milestone.
After such a long and successful career, it can be natural to relax and take the foot off of the gas pedal. That doesn’t seem to be the case for Belichick.
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In Albert Breer’s Monday Morning Quarterback column, Breer said that Belichick is working harder than he ever has.
“Belichick still loves doing it,” Breer stated. “That much is obvious. I had someone there tell me that this offseason he’s actually working more than he has in the recent past, which only speaks to the fact that, to borrow paraphrase an old Levy-ism, there really isn’t any place he’d rather be.”
What Keeps Belichick Going
After coaching for so long, there isn’t exactly a lot for Belichick to prove. He has won six Super Bowls and will likely go down as the greatest head coach in NFL history.
But while Belichick is still working hard, there are some benefits to working at the same place for over 20 years.
“That doesn’t make the operation turnkey, but it does mean that if he wants to run a meeting or two over Zoom from Jupiter or Nantucket, he can do it,” Breer states. “Which allows him to do the things people in their 70s generally want to, while also continuing with his life’s work.”
Belichick is also constantly surrounded by his family. With sons, Stephen and Brian both working for the organization, he gets to spend a lot of time with his children.
The head coach is also still driven to win. With 321 total wins in his career, Belichick is only 24 wins behind Don Shula and becoming the winningest coach in NFL history. There’s also the Tom Brady factor.
“I’ve heard for more than a decade that those around him believe he wants to show he can win with the Patriots without Brady,” Breer states. “He got the franchise Mac Jones and a playoff berth last year. The next step is showing that legit championship contention is on the horizon.”
Handing Over the Keys
And once Belichick is able to show that he can win without Brady and that he is without a doubt the best coach in NFL history, he will prepare his exit strategy. Breer believes that Belichick wants to leave the team in good shape for whoever ends up taking over for him.
“If Belichick can get there, too, he’ll be in better position to hand something good off to whoever the next guy in Foxborough is—which I believe is another thing he wants to do,” Breer stated.
So even though he continues to get older, Patriots fans shouldn’t expect Belichick to disappear. The head coach clearly still has some more work that he wants to do before he hangs up his headset.