Could NFL teams be hoisting the Bill Belichick Trophy at the Super Bowl in 50 years? Willie McGinest hopes so.
The New England Patriots coach’s career rivals that of Vince Lombardi, who the championship trophy is named for now, so McGinest and NFL Media’s Steve Wyche debated whether the award should be renamed in the future. Lombardi posted a 96-34-6 regular-season record, 9-1 playoff record, five championships and the first two Super Bowl wins against Belichick’s 229-114 regular-season record, 23-10 playoff record and four Super Bowl wins.
And for McGinest, who played linebacker for the Patriots for 12 seasons total and six under Belichick, the choice was easy.
“There are many similarities between the two, but the biggest difference can be seen in the rosters they each won with,” McGinest said. “Lombardi had a core group for many years, while Belichick took non-standout players, elevated their play and made them stars. Take sixth-round, third-string quarterback Tom Brady, former QB-turned-receiver Julian Edelman or a solid receiver who became a Super Bowl MVP (Deion Branch). … Belichick gets the best out of his players and excels at putting them in the right position to succeed based on their strengths and weaknesses. There are many circumstances in which his players have had to sacrifice individual stats for the good of the team.”
McGinest makes some good points, but the NFL hasn’t discussed changing the name of the Lombardi Trophy, as far as anyone knows. Plus, Belichick still is going strong in his 22nd year as a head coach, so he’ll probably have to retire first before any decisions about his legacy are made.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
