”This has been an unforgettable season for me.” At the critical moment of the final game, Belichick coached a team that had two backup safeties -- Shawn Mayer and Chris Akins on the field subbing for the injured Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson. Of course Belichick was used to being shorthanded, after a season in which free-agent linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, starting guard Mike Compton, and starting receiver David Patten were lost to injuries.
Belichick’s team won this Super Bowl with great offense after both teams had played great defense. Though the winning points came the same way, with another Adam Vinatieri field goal, this Super Bowl win was arguably more difficult.
”[Belichick] has to be considered among the best [coaches] of all time now,” said linebacker Ted Johnson. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that now.”
But many Hall of Fame voters wanted to see a second championship as head coach to add to a resume that includes two rings as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants and a Super Bowl appearance in 1997 when he was the assistant head coach of the Patriots under Bill Parcells. In both Super Bowl wins he’s had the common thread of Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis, coordinators who interviewed but did not land head coaching opportunities. Surprisingly, of the seven NFL teams looking for coaches, not one wanted to replicate, at least in part, the success Belichick and company have achieved in New England. He now has matched his mentor, Parcells, with two Super Bowl rings as head coach. He’s also matched contemporaries such as Mike Shanahan, Jimmy Johnson, and George Seifert with two apiece.
