His .625 winning percentage ranks fifth among coaches with at least 150 wins, behind George Halas (324-151-31, .682), Don Shula (347-173-6, .666), Curly Lambeau (229-134-22, .631), and Joe Gibbs (171-101, .629).
As for Belichick's reaction to joining the 150 Club, he took stock of members of his new fraternity and said it was flattering, yet made it clear that players win games and that he simply coaches them.
"Never did I think about seeing my name on a list with these legendary coaches," he said. "It is very humbling and I appreciate everyone who helped win those games. Hopefully there will be another one this week."
While the importance of players cannot be understated, the role of coaching in football has perhaps never been greater in a league where the goal is to make all teams even.
How else to explain why as many as 10 teams could be making changes at the head coaching spot this offseason? How else to explain dramatic turnarounds in places like Miami, Baltimore, and Atlanta, where new coaches have created a winning culture with teams that were doormats last year?
The Patriots' injury-ravaged campaign has highlighted Belichick's excellence and put to rest one of the more topical but misguided early-season story lines: Would he be a winning coach without Tom Brady as his starting quarterback?
Those asking the question seemed to forget that Belichick's sub-.500 record without Brady included a final year in Cleveland (5-11) that was torpedoed when owner Art Modell announced the team was moving to Baltimore. Furthermore, his 5-11 record in 2000 came in his first year as Patriots coach, when the pieces were being put in place under tight salary cap conditions.
Maybe this season will draw everyone to a more realistic meeting point when it comes to Belichick: He isn't the run-of-the-mill coach some perceived him to be without Brady, and at the same time, he isn't the genius that some trumpeted him to be when the Patriots were winning three of four Super Bowls from 2001-04.
Simply put, he's one of the top coaches in the game, which he's proven over time, in a variety of situations.
