New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick‘s mother, Jeannette Belichick, died on Monday due to natural causes, according to ESPN. She was 98 years old. Jeannette Belichick died in Annapolis Maryland – where Bill was raised. Bill Belichick’s father, Steve, died in 2005 at 85 years old.
Jeannette and Steve got married in 1950 and welcomed Bill in 1952. The couple met in the 1940s when Jeanette was teaching foreign language at Hiram College in Ohio and Steve was the coach of the football, basketball and track teams. In 2015, Bill Belichick donated to Hiram College to honor the legacy of his parents. The Jeannette Munn Belichick’ 42 Endowed Fund supports the school library, and there’s also a Jennette Munn Belichick’ 42 Reading Room. For Steve, there’s a Coach Steve Belichick Olympic Training Center at the school.
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Bill Belichick has been the Patriots head coach since 2000 and established himself as one of the best coaches in NFL history. On Sunday, the Patriots earned a 21-11 win, and it was the first game where the team was playing without Tom Brady as the starting quarterback. Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March, and the Patriots brought in Cam Newton.
“All right men, that was a good team win,” Belichick said in a speech to his players. “Got good contributions from all three phases, everybody contributed there, did a lot of things well. Certainly a lot of improvement; we’ll work on that.” Before starting the season, Newton, who won the MVP award in 2015, talked about how much he loves working with Belichick.
“Is it real what they say about Belichick? Is it going to be too … I didn’t know,” Newton asked himself before making his decision to sign with the Pats while talking about Belichick’s persona. “I think, honestly, it’s been a match made in heaven for me, just knowing that I’m at a place where everything is pulling in the same direction and everything is geared toward winning.”
Belichick has led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances with six Super Bowl wins. He’s a three-time winner of the AP NFL Coach of the Year award and holds the record for most playoff wins for a head coach (31). Belichick is a member of the 2000 and 2010 All-Decade Team as well as the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
