Bill Belichick is the gold standard when it comes to NFL head coaches.
He has won a head coaching record five Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots, in addition to appearing eight overall -- Sunday's Super Bowl LIII matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta will be his ninth appearance.
Belichick is a master at motivation and preparation, and the latter might be what's most impressive about his skill set. Former Patriots linebackers coach Rob Ryan, who has coached for many different teams over the last couple of decades, shared a story Tuesday on WEEI's "Dale and Keefe" that gives a pretty good explanation of why Belichick is in a class all by himself.
“This guy is so much better than every other coach. It’s not fair. He’s the best, by far,” Ryan said. “My job during the first Super Bowl year –– see if this paid off. He was like, ‘Look, these guys can’t tackle. Antwan Harris, they can’t tackle, J.R. Redmond can’t make anybody miss. Get over there, and work tackling every day.’ We were working tackling in the playoffs. After practice, they’re putting their stuff on to tackle. Well, let’s see. Didn’t Antwan Harris force a fumble with a form tackle on Ricky Proehl right before half when we scored that touchdown? That worked out pretty good. I thought J.R. Redmond made a few plays making people miss during the championship game and Super Bowl, he does them both. (Belichick) had the foresight to see it coming. He can’t watch TV and just see the actual movie. He sees the dials –– ‘We’re watching on RCA today.’ He sees the whole console. I don’t see that; I don’t have that vision. I don’t think anybody does.”
It wasn't the first or last time Belichick's preparation led to an improbable Super Bowl victory. He has a tough challenge on Sunday trying to find a gameplan to slow down a very talented and high scoring Rams offense, but if any coach can shut down Patrick Mahomes and Jared Goff in back-to-back games, it's Belichick.
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