Bill Belichick was already having a rough 2023 season. And now this.
When, in the middle of the night Tuesday into Wednesday, the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels as their head coach, this left yet another damning blow to Belichick’s coaching tree, which has developed an alarming number of dead branches.
Belichick’s prowess as a head coach is unquestioned, as evidenced by the six Lombardi Trophies that sit proudly on display in the lobby of the Patriots facility. But unlike the coaching trees of some of the NFL’s best head coaches, Belichick’s former assistants have, more often than not, failed to find success as head coaches.
McDaniels leaves Las Vegas as a two-time failed head coach, having been fired in the midst of his second season in Denver with an 11-17 record and now bounced in the midst of his second season with the Raiders with a 9-16 record.
It’s as likely McDaniels, who ironically went 2-0 against Belichick’s Patriots, will ever be the head coach of an NFL team again as it is that Belichick concedes those six Super Bowl titles were because of Tom Brady and not himself.
With his career 20-33 record, McDaniels is only the latest of the former Belichick assistant coaches who didn’t fare well.
Romeo Crennel went 24-40 with the Browns, 4-15 with the Chiefs and 4-8 as the Texans interim coach in 2020 — an overall record of 32-63 with no playoff appearances.
Eric Mangini found success with the Jets at 23-25 — with two winning seasons in three years and a playoff appearance before he was unfairly fired by owner Woody Johnson after going 9-7 in 2008. He then followed Crennel in Cleveland and went 10-22.
Matt Patricia turned out to be a flat tire in Detroit, posting a 13-29-1 record from 2018-21, ironically winning his first game against Belichick’s Patriots. He was fired in the middle of his third season.
Years before Patricia’s Motor City flameout was Jim Schwartz, who coached the Lions to a 29-51 record from 2009-13 after getting his first NFL job as a scout under Belichick with the Browns in 1993.
Joe Judge, who Belichick personally recommended to Giants ownership during the interview process, went 10-23 in New York from 2020-21.
The few Belichick disciples who had some NFL success include Bill O’Brien, who went 52-48 in Houston (and is now back on Belichick’s staff as an offensive coordinator); Brian Flores, who went 24-25 with the Dolphins from 2019-21 and had a 10-win season in 2020; and current Giants coach Brian Daboll, who’s 11-13-1 but led the team to the playoffs last season.
Even Nick Saban, arguably one of the best coaches in college football history, had a poor run as the Dolphins head coach from 2005-06 with a 15-17 record after spending four years as Belichick’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland.
What’s the deal?
The easiest, most obvious, answer is those guys didn’t have Brady as their quarterback for more than two decades. Also, in some cases, Belichick’s disciples tried — at least in the beginning — to be like Belichick when they’d have been better off being themselves.
Belichick’s coaching tree is not nearly as healthy as some from other top NFL coaches of all time.
Bill Walsh spawned the likes of Mike Holmgren, George Seifert, Paul Hackett, Jim Fassel and Dennis Green — a group that produced a combined six Super Bowl appearances and three Lombardi Trophies.
When you add Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher, Brian Billick, Jon Gruden, Mike McCarthy, Steve Mariucci, Andy Reid, Gary Kubiak and both Jim and John Harbaugh, you have seven Super Bowl appearances with five rings from the Walsh tree.
Among Bill Parcells’ tree of assistants, Belichick, Tom Coughlin and Sean Payton produced six Super Bowl titles.
Marty Schottenheimer’s coaching tree produced Super Bowl champions Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy.
Going deeper into history, five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Landry had former assistants Mike Ditka, Dan Reeves and Raymond Berry, who combined for six Super Bowl appearances.
With Belichick seemingly nearing the end of his brilliant career, the lack of success of his former assistants will forever be a stain — however small — on his legacy.
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