Where does Belichick rank?

My NFL memories start about 1989 and even then are a little fuzzy, but the NFC West wasn't exactly murder's row.
The argument for Walsh is he had to compete with teams like Ditka's Bears, Parcells' Giants, Gibbs' Redskins. Belichick was up against one of the best QBs to play the game in Manning just about every year and doing what he's done in the free agency era is huge.
Older gents on this board can educate me, but Walsh's Super Bowl's don't strike me as all that impressive. The 1984 seems (I was 3, so help here) like it was against a soft Miami team that was built to play in this generation, the Bengals were a one-year wonder and the Broncos were the best in what was a mediocre AFC.
Belichick's aren't that impressive either, minus the most recent and the first one.
I'd give the edge to Belichick solely because his run has lasted longer and because I stopped being a 49ers after I moved from SF to RI and was told by my uncle I had to root for the team I lived near.

 

It may have already been mentioned on this thread, but I've heard a lot of talk, even before this week, that one of the keys to Belichick's success is that he trades down in the draft quite a bit in order to accumulate players and depth. That's not a bad idea. In fact, I'm starting to wonder - bit of a tangent here - if quarterbacks are going to eventually become like running backs, in that no one will touch them in the first round, except under extraordinary circumstances. It'll be for a different reason, though. No one believes quarterbacks are fungible or not important enough. Instead, it'll be that they are too hard to project, and too easy to bust on.

 

Walsh won Super Bowls with two of his weaker teams.
Belichick has done it as well- with the '01 team and this one.
The greats win when the wagon isn't always loaded.

 

Does Parcells get any recognition as a top 10 coach?

 

Yes they are, because the Pats won SB titles .
Or no, because it is irrelevant, i.e. Philly never won a title and only made one Super Bowl. Kind of the equivalent of Bud Grant's Vikings.

But you are right.. this is horrible stat to gauge GOAT worthiness.

 

Having the best record in the division six times is not the same as having the best record in the division 14 times in a row.

 

That Belichick has done it for as long as he has, with as many different players he has had, in the free agent era might make him the best of all time.

 

Winning a four-team division is somewhat devalued. You are playing 5/8ths of your games against other teams, four of those on a rotating basis.
There was more integrity to the old divisions and the old scheduling.

 

Belichick won 12 or more games 9 times in 15 seasons with NE, and the last 5 in a row. Lombardi won 5 championships in 9 years and won 75% of his games. Those are the first 2 on the coaching Mt Rushmore.
Walsh won 12 or more 3 times in 10 years, 3 Championships. I think Walsh loses something for his relatively short tenure, though the same as Lombardi, even if Vince stayed at Green Bay another year, his tragic early death mitigates his 10 years. Halas for longevity and basically being the midwife if not the father of modern football.

Noll's 4 Championships should put him in the top group, but 2 playoff wins in his last 12 years relegate him to all time great not immortal. Does Shula's 1968 NFL Championship get reduced to merely a pennant winner? I think so.
Championships are a huge factor, but I still rank Tom Landry higher than Noll and Shula and every bit the equal of Walsh if not better. Landry was every bit the innovator of Walsh if not more so based on longevity.

1st team Mt Rushmore: Lombardi Belichick Landry Halas
2nd team Mt Rushmore Walsh Brown Noll Shula

 

Doing some research yesterday I determined that as head coach, assistant head coach or defensive coordinator, Darth Belichick has coached against 22 NFL teams in the post-season.
They include both iterations of the Rams (Los Angeles and St. Louis), Buffalo and Oakland, the 1995 expansion twins and even the New England Patriots.
That is a mark of longevity but also one of consistent success in a tectonic league. It shows you're always in the hunt.
Exceptions? Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Minnesota, among others.
Guess what those franchises have in common.
Their histories over the last quarter-century suck.
I will have to keep digging, but I would bet I can't find a coach (under those parameters) who was in the mix in January/February as often as he has been.

 

No love for Curly Lambeau?

 

I'd have to put Brown in the first group and move Belichick to the 2nd.

Not a bad 2nd team--Walsh, Hood, Noll, Shula