Bill Belichick: A Super Bowl god's fall from grace

Bill Belichick

While the New England Patriots prepare for their 12th Super Bowl appearance, their former head coach Bill Belichick - widely considered to be the greatest professional football coach of all time - finds himself in an unlikely position: defending his legacy.

Although Belichick has the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history, he received a phone call on Friday notifying him he would not be inducted into this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

"Six Super Bowls isn't enough?" Belichick asked with disappointment, according to ESPN which broke the news, referring to his six wins with the Patriots.

The latest setback adds to a series of misfortunes for Belichick, who ended his nearly 50-year NFL coaching career on a losing streak, and, in a rather unexpected decision, left the pinnacle of American football to coach college students.

Just a few months ago, Belichick made his college football debut to a sell-out crowd of over 50,000 people packed into University of North Carolina's football stadium.

When he walked onto the field for the first time, the roar of tens of thousands of screaming fans erupted into the night sky.

But it didn't end well.

The Tar Heels suffered a stinging defeat to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs that night, and never quite recovered. By the end of the 12-game season, the team finished with just four wins – its worst record since 2018.

The paradox between Belichick's legendary NFL career and his spectacularly poor first year in college football is complicating his legacy. After nearly 50 years coaching professional football, why Belichick accepted an offer to step down to the amateur leagues remains a big question. When he will quit is becoming an even bigger one.