Bill Belichick quietly hit an impressive benchmark that not even he noticed.
During Monday’s press conference (h/t NESN’s Zack Cox), a reporter noted that Sunday’s 29-0 win over the Detroit Lions marked Belichick’s 400th game (including the playoffs) as the New England Patriots head coach. While some may have expected the 70-year-old to process the milestone by saying, “onto Cleveland,” he answered “absolutely” when asked if he takes pride in his 23-year run with the same team.
“It was hard to hire me in 2000, and [Robert Kraft] gave up a lot in the trade with the Jets and all that, for me to come here,” Belichick said. “So that in and of itself was a great level of commitment and a blessing for me to have this opportunity. It’s worked out pretty well since then, all the way around. Hopefully, we can continue to improve and keep it going.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6MLxMCeejY&w=560&h=315]
He said it’s been “awesome” to see players and coaches grow within the organization. After recalling several of the franchise’s all-time greats, he linked an elite quarterback and special teamer together in true Belichick fashion.
“To just watch them come in as rookies and just start from scratch and then develop and grow into some of the greatest players in Patriots history, some of the greatest players of all time — certainly, [Tom] Brady and [Matthew] Slater will go down in that category at their positions and for the game — yeah, it’s been an incredible number of years,” he said.
After reflecting on the past two decades for a few minutes, Belichick declared that it’s “probably time for me to start thinking about Cleveland.”
Only George Halas and Don Shula have coached and won more regular-season games than Belichick, who will look for his 293rd career victory and 257th with the Patriots (not including 30 postseason triumphs) when facing the Browns in Week 6.