If the Patriots play for the last 11 games like they have for the first six, Bill Belichick may break a record he’d prefer not to own.
Belichick is closing in on the NFL’s all-time record for losses by a head coach.
After Sunday’s loss to the Raiders, Belichick is 299-157 in his NFL coaching career. The record for most regular-season losses in NFL history is shared by Dan Reeves (who went 190-165-2) and Jeff Fisher (173-165-1). So if Belichick loses nine more games, he’ll break that record.
Counting the playoffs, the record for most career losses belongs to Tom Landry, who lost a total of 178 regular-season and postseason games in his coaching career. Belichick has lost 170 total games, so with nine more losses he’ll also break Landry’s record.
A coach has to have success to set the all-time record for losses because a coach who loses a lot of games without also winning a lot of games will be fired long before he loses enough to set the record. But it’s telling that Belichick, who is often cited as the greatest coach ever, has lost so much.
It’s also telling that Belichick’s record is so different with Tom Brady than without him. In games when Belichick had Brady as his starting quarterback, he’s 219-64 in the regular season and 30-11 in the postseason. With all other quarterbacks, Belichick is 80-93 in the regular season and 1-2 in the postseason. So we have a sample size of 176 games telling us that Belichick is a sub-.500 coach when he doesn’t have the greatest player in NFL history as his starting quarterback.
Belichick is the only head coach to win six Super Bowls, and his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is assured. But as this miserable season continues, the losses are piling up, and he may end up with more losses than any other coach, ever.
