Word broke today that Bill Belichick has been named the 2010 coach of the year. This marks the third time that The Genius has won the award, with 2003 (14-2 record) and 2007 (16-0 record) as his other victories.
I’m sure that this award isn’t necessarily a major deal for Belichick, who pretty much cares about Lombardi Trophies and nothing else. However, I’m personally glad to see him walk away with the honor. The 2010 Patriots were not supposed to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. They were young, raw, and it appeared that there were simply too many injuries and holes on the roster to make any type of notable run. When Randy Moss was traded away due to his attitude problems, expectations dipped even lower. Still, Belichick led his young crew to a 14-2 record and finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak. The fourteen wins was no small feat, considering that the 2010 slate was one of the most difficult schedules the Pats have ever had. Along the way, the Patriots knocked off six playoff teams in the Steelers, Packers, Bears, Jets, Colts, Ravens. While the playoffs didn’t go as expected, the AP award is based solely on the regular season and I don’t see how any other coach could be considered more worthy than Belichick based on those sixteen games.
To be quite honest, this was likely the most impressive regular season of his entire coaching career. When the Patriots went 14-2 in ’03 and ’04, and 16-0 in ’07, he made those runs with a star-studded cast of proven veterans. As good as they were, few people were shocked by those results. I don’t think anyone saw 14-2 coming for this young Patriots squad, probably not even Belichick himself.
In the end, no other coach pulled as much out of his players regardless of the experience or talent on their roster. It’s only fitting that Belichick walk away with the AP Coach of the Year after such an amazing run.
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