How Many Losing Seasons Does Bill Belichick Have With the New England Patriots?
Throughout his illustrious coaching career, Bill Belichick hasn’t lost a whole lot. Under his guidance, the New England Patriots set the standard for what it takes to become a model franchise in the NFL.
That said, when Tom Brady left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the Patriots became pedestrian. The wins aren’t as easy to come by. Teams no longer fear the Patriots. In two of the three seasons without Brady, the Patriots failed to make the playoffs. As Belichick enters his 24th season as the head coach in New England, we take a look at how many losing seasons he’s had with the Patriots.
Bill Belichick has been a head coach in the NFL for 28 years
Bill Belichick made his head coaching debut in 1991 with the Cleveland Browns and went 6-10 in his first season. He spent five seasons with the Browns and had just one winning season. He guided Cleveland to a playoff berth in 1994 after going 11-5. In his five seasons with the Browns, Belichick finished with a 36-44 record.
Before Belichick took the head coaching job with the Patriots in 2000, he briefly became the head coach of the New York Jets. One day after it was announced Belichick was taking over for Bill Parcells as head coach of the Jets, Belichick made a surprise statement, saying he was resigning as the team’s head coach.
He then was named the head coach of the rival Patriots. In his first year with the Patriots, he went 5-11. Then an injury to quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for Tom Brady, who guided the Patriots to the first of his six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in the 2001 season.
With the Patriots, Belichick has registered 20 winning seasons, 17 of them with Brady as the full-time starter. In 2008, Brady tore his ACL in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. With Matt Cassell under center for the remainder of the season, the Patriots went 11-5 but failed to qualify for the postseason.
Belichick has a 298-152 record as he enters the 2023 season. He’s third on the all-time wins list for coaches, behind Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318).
How many losing seasons does Belichick have with the Patriots?
Many call Belichick the greatest coach ever in the NFL. While he has the numbers to make a case, he hasn’t fared very well in his career when Brady wasn’t under center. Without Brady as his quarterback, Belichick is 79-87.
It’s no secret Belichick and the Patriots haven’t fared well without Brady. In New England’s first season after Brady bolted for the Bucs, the Patriots went 7-9. The following year, with rookie quarterback Mac Jones taking the snaps from center, the Pats went 10-7 and returned to the playoffs. Last year, they regressed and missed the postseason again after an 8-9 season.
In all, Belickick has three losing seasons as head coach of the Patriots. The way things are shaping up in the AFC East, another one or two could be on the horizon. The Patriots head into the 2023 season as the fourth-best team in the four-team AFC East.
The New York Jets, typically the cellar-dwellers in the division, have gone all-out this year and traded for four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback should give the defensive-minded Jets a serious boost on offense.
The Buffalo Bills remain the class of the division, while the high-powered Miami Dolphins should also finish above the Patriots in the standings this season.
