Tom Brady, Bill Belichik Not Most Prolific Coach-QB Title Tandem
As crazy as it sounds, Tom Brady and Belichik are not the most prolific championship quarterback-coach tandem.
Few ever get the chance to compete for a professional championship. On Opening Day in Week 1, there were 1,664 players active for Week 1. Only 104 will be active for Super Bowl 51. Think that’s a small number? Consider how many head coaches and quarterbacks ever get to vie for a title.
They’re not like lineman or linebackers. There aren’t multiple guys on a roster. There’s one head coach and one starting quarterback. To even make it to the big game means a heckuva lot.
Now, consider being so great, you’re not vying for your first, second, third or even fourth championship. If you’re Tom Brady and Bill Belichik, you’re gunning for Super Bowl ring No. 5.
As incredible as it may seem, Brady and Belichik aren’t the most prolific championship winners in professional football history.
Here’s how they rank among coach-quarterback tandems that have won championships and Super Bowl titles.
1. Otto Graham and Paul Brown: The Browns first head coach and first quarterback advanced to 10 championship games together, winning seven of those contests. Four titles were won when the Browns competed in the AAFC from 1946-1949.
The AAFC doesn’t get the credit it deserves and it wasn’t highly respected back in 1950, when the Browns jumped to the NFL. Many assumed the L.A. Rams would roll over Cleveland in the 1950 title game, but Cleveland won, 30-28.
2. Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi: If Brown and Graham dominated the late ’40s through the mid-’50s, Starr and Lombardi took the torch, advancing to six championship games, winning five of those appearances. Four titles were won before the Super Bowl era, although the duo will forever be famous for winning the first two Super Bowl championships in 1967 and 1968.
3. Tom Brady and Bill Belichik: Together, the pair have been to six Super Bowls, with the Patriots winning four heading into Super Bowl LI. Belichik drafted Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. The Michigan product got his shot in 2001 after Drew Bledsoe was lost to injury. Brady never gave the job back and New England has been the model franchise of the league for almost two decades. If Brady and Belichik beat the Falcons this Sunday, they’ll hop over Star and Lombardi for the second spot.
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4. Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Knoll: Bradshaw and Knoll won four Super Bowls together in the 1970s, making the Pittsburgh Steelers the team of the decade. The pair’s success also kept another famous coach-QB tandem off this list: Roger Staubach and Tom Landry. Knoll and Bradshaw bested Landry and Staubach in Super Bowl XIII, which is regarded as one of the best Super Bowls ever played.
5. Joe Montana and Bill Walsh: Walsh’s West Coast Offense, along with “Joe Cool” made the 49ers the team of the 1980s. The duo ultimately led San Francisco to three Super Bowls wins. Some interesting notes on their Super Bowl wins include keeping Paul Brown from ever winning the Super Bowl. The legendary coach was the owner/president of Cincinnati during the Bengals’ two Super Bowl appearances in the ’80s.
Next: 4 Browns Who Should Be In The HOF
The other two victories came in blowout fashion over two future HOF quarterbacks: Dan Marino (1885; 38-16) and John Elway (1989; 55-10). This is an updated version after FoS made a mistake and apologizes for, after previously publishing that Walsh led San Francisco to four Super Bowl wins in the 1980s.