Etc...

January 12, 2007

In NFL playoffs, the Patriots' Belichick is a 'money' coach

Among National Football League head coaches, no one currently on the job has a better playoff record than New England's Bill Belichick. Even in the company of the all-time coaching greats, only Vince Lombardi exceeds his .857 winning percentage in postseason play. On Sunday, Belichick's Patriots face a stiff challenge against the San Diego Chargers in divisional-round playoff action. If New England wins that game, plus two more, Belichick would join Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers (who retired in 1991) as the only other head coach with four Super Bowl rings. The NFL's 10 most successful postseason coaches, with the teams each has coached, number of Super Bowl victories (in parentheses), won-lost records, and winning percentage:

Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers (2) 9-1 .900
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots (3) 12-2 .857
Joe Gibbs, Washington Redskins (3) 16-5 .762
Tom Flores, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (2) 8-3 .727
Bill Walsh, San Francisco '49ers (3) 10-4 .714
Jimmy Johnson, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins (2) 9-4 .692
Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers (4) 16-8 .667
George Seifert, San Francisco '49ers (2) 10-5 .667
Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos (2) 7-4 .636
Bill Parcells, New York Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys (2) 11-8 .579