Belichick deserves credit for turnaround

In January of 2000, I was critical of the Patriots' decision to hire Bill Belichick, who was a bust in Cleveland. I wrote: It is possible he has learned from mistakes and is a different coach, but it's also possible that a pig will learn to use silverware.

Well, Babe is spooling linguini. And I'm eating crow.

Belichick's performance this season truly has been one of the most remarkable coaching jobs I have witnessed. The same life he sucked from the Browns, he breathed into the Patriots.

Belichick turned the Patriots from a 5-11 cellar-dweller of a year ago into an 11-5 big fish, and he did it without difference-makers. Consider this: Of the five Patriots with the highest salary-cap figures, only one, cornerback Ty Law, has contributed much. What talent the Patriots had was depleted by the second-largest injured reserve list in the NFL.

"What's incredible about that team is they don't even have average talent," an AFC player personnel director says. "They have below-average talent."

No stars? No sweat. Belichick took journeymen and maximized their abilities by game-planning around their strengths, and he coached the youth out of the young players. At least six veterans--receivers Troy Brown and David Patten, running back Antowain Smith, guard Joe Andruzzi, defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton and outside linebacker Mike Vrabel--had the best seasons of their careers.

"He's asking them to do what they can do and not asking them to do too much," says Bills coach Gregg Williams, who voted for Belichick for coach of the year. "He does the best job of anyone we play of attacking your personnel and exploiting matchups."

Belichick has found a why to overcome obstacle after obstacle. Some teams would have packed it in if their starting quarterbacks had to miss a month or more. Others would have disintegrated if their No. 1 receivers were suspended for the first month of the season, and then, upon returning, showed little interest in practicing.

Instead of being resented for being stern with Terry Glenn, Belichick was appreciated. Turns out most of Glenn's teammates were happier to have him out of their foxhole. "The best thing he did was he didn't lose the team when his Pro Bowl quarterback went down or when his Pro Bowl receiver went crazy," Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt says. "To me, that's a great job."

There also was the death of quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein in August. Belichick, reputed to be as sensitive as a callus, shut down the team's operations for a day just before the preseason opener, allowing the Patriots to grieve and to attend a memorial service.

Then, Belichick took on the added burden of running the quarterback meetings and, essentially, developing Tom Brady. That a coach with no history on offense was able to help turn Brady, a seldom-seen, sixth-round pick last year, into a Pro Bowl player is enough to qualify Belichick for some sort of trophy, plaque, or at least a commemorative ashtray.

Through it all, Belichick never wavered on his vision for the team. After the Patriots' 0-2 start, Belichick had a meeting in which he told the players they were going to be a tough, physical team that would win games by running the ball. Understand, he was saying this about a team that finished with the third-worst average per carry in the league the previous season and had no proven running back.

His players believed him, in part, because they were drinking the Kool-Aid. He had changed the substance of the team by bringing in his guys. "The No. 1 thing he got done is he changed the attitude around here," says receivers coach Ivan Fears. "A lot of guys who came in here, people said they were near the end of their careers. But they still were very hungry and proud. The tone in the locker room changed."

During one momentous practice exchange, Hamilton, who played for Belichick with the Jets, became angry with the lax approach of some of his teammates. After a near brawl, more Patriots began doing it Belichick's way.

Hamilton is one of 16 players on the roster who have been on a team with Belichick before. So have five assistant coaches and 13 others on his football staff. This is significant because these men know what to expect from him and can live with it. In Cleveland, that wasn't always the case. With the Patriots, Belichick is trusting more and delegating more.

Those who know Belichick best say he really is the same guy who went 36-44 with the Browns and had only one winning season in five years (1991-95). "At his core, he hasn't changed," says Patriots personnel director Scott Pioli, who has worked with Belichick on three teams. "The things that were important to him then are important now."

But that isn't to say Belichick hasn't learned from mistakes. "He's one of the most introspective, analytical, self-critical people I know," Pioli says. "It takes humility and confidence to be that way. He's man enough to confront those things."