New England embarked on a coin-flip hot run in 2015, when Bill Belichick was at his peak and the season seemed to start in the AFC championship game. They won 19/25.
0.0073, or less than three quarters of 1%, was the Boston Globe's estimate. It seemed unlikely. National Public Radio covered it. Naturally, there was no secret. Luck, and a 20% chance, was involved. It appeared like Belichick had discovered something new.
However, Belichick was so successful and discreet that nothing was left to chance. NFL coaching staffs trying to find out how he transformed a 50/50 scenario into another Patriots advantage. One NFL club consulted a mathematician.
After a terrible 4-13 season, Bill Belichick will allegedly leave the Patriots. Foxborough's 24-season record may never be repeated: 17 straight double-digit win seasons, 17 division victories in 19 years, eight conference championship games, nine Super Bowl visits, and six titles.
Even the finest have to face reality—life without a quarterback, let alone a great like Tom Brady. Due to poor draft classes and recalcitrant personnel, the exodus took seasons. Belichick was 25-25 without Brady in 2020–2022, then dreadful.
Ernest Hemingway wrote that bankruptcy happens gradually, then abruptly. Think Patriots broke. Someone else will rebuild. The finish shouldn't define the trip. All good things end, but Belichick's Patriots have been among the best, grandest, and longest-lasting in sport.
Belichick became a football specialist after being hired from Cleveland for his defensive prowess. He won with Brady the game manager and record-setting touchdown passer. Run-first and two-tight-end offense won him. Many tiny slot receivers and Randy Moss helped him win.
Belichick was greatest at pushing and cutting. He won those coin flips and delayed getting the ball until the second half so Brady could score twice in a row.
He went for it on fourth down in ways that shocked talk programs but are now typical. He was a strict disciplinarian and old-school, yet he turned other teams' problems into All-Pros.