Game Plan For Success
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
When many think about recent coaches for the New England Patriots, they think about The two Bill's -- Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells. Although both coaches have brought success to the organization, there was one coach that stemmed the gap between them. That coach will be coaching across from Belichick in Super Bowl XLIX, Pete Carroll.
The two coaches have each seen a great deal of success in their coaching endeavors, but which coach gives his team the advantage in Super Bowl XLIX? To help determine that, a look back at the respective careers of each coach.
Pete Carroll
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCarroll was the coach of the Patriots from 1997-1999, taking over for Parcells who had resigned following the 1996 season. Carroll had huge shoes to fill after Parcells led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996.
Carroll's time with the Patriots was not a successful run. He did lead the 1997 squad to the AFC East title, but missed the playoffs in his final year as Patriots coach. In his stint with the Patriots, Carroll finished with a 33-31 record. After those two non-playoff seasons, Carroll was fired by The Patriots.
After his stint with the Patriots, Carroll spent 10 seasons with the USC Trojans before returning to the NFL to take over the Seattle Seahawks.
Carroll made his return to the NFL in 2010 and immediately led the lowly Seahawks to the playoffs, and a playoff upset of the New Orleans Saints. Since that win the Seahawks have become one of the premier defenses and overall teams in the NFL. They won Carroll's first Super Bowl as a coach in 2013 and are the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowl's since Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots did so in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Bill Belichick
Those back-to-back Super Bowl's are just a small piece of Belichick's success as the Patriots coach. Belichick has been the coach of the Patriots since taking over from Carroll's regime in the 2000 season.
Belichick has been the coach of the Patriots for 15 seasons and has become the gold standard for coaching in the NFL. In his time in New England, Belichick has 195 total wins, including 20 playoff wins. Belichick has led the Patriots to nine AFC Championship games, winning six of them. That, in turn, has seen Belichick make it to six Super Bowl's. Belichick has won three Super Bowl's -- 2001, 2003 and 2004. He has appeared in two more -- 2007 and 2011, losing both to the New York Giants.
Belichick's recent run has him looking to join Chuck Noll as the only coaches with four Super Bowl victories in NFL history.
Belichick vs Carroll
Who gets the nod? Which coach gives his team the advantage on February 1? Is it the coach in the midst of an unprecedented run of success? Or is it the coach that has turned a losing franchise into a defensive powerhouse on the brink of repeating as Super Bowl champions?
The nod, however slight, goes to Belichick. With a healthy Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Darrelle Revis at his disposal, Belichick's possibilities seem endless. The coaching matchup gives the first advantage to the Patriots.
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