New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made history on Sunday when his team took down the Cleveland Browns 27-13. And with the victory, Belichick now has 300 career wins — becoming the third head coach in NFL history to reach that mark. The other two are former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula as well as Chicago Bears founder and head coach George Halas. Those wins include playoff games, and Belichick won 31 in postseason play. After the game, Patriots owner Robert Kraft handed out the game ball to Belichick who has been with the team since 2000.
“We don’t give game balls out without it being a special milestone. I want you to know, Sept. 8, 1991, the man on my left came to Foxborough to coach the Cleveland Browns against the New England Patriots and won his first game as a head coach,” Kraft said via the team’s official website.
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“28 years later, he’s coming back to this same location and winning his 300th game, only the third man in history in the 100 years of the NFL to do that, and I’m happy as we all are that 263 of those 300 have been as coach of the New England Patriots. And I’m especially happy that 299 was against the New York Jets.”
Quarterback Tom Brady spoke to the media after the game and he talked about how they both joined the team at the same time.
“Being here 20 years ago, it was his first year, my first year, and it’s been a great journey. I’m just proud of him, everything he’s accomplished,” Brady said. “It’s amazing to think that he coached for another place and they didn’t think he was good enough, and then he comes here and does a great job. It’s a great celebration for him and certainly hard-earned, well-deserved and the only thing better than 300 is 301.”
Belichick started his NFL coaching career with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-1995 and his team reached the playoffs once. He joined the Patriots in 2000 and emerged as one of the best head coaches of all time. Belichick has led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances with six Super Bowl wins. He’s a three-time winner of Coach of the Year (2003, 2007 and 2010) and he’s named to the 2000s All-Decade Team.
