Bill Belichick William Stephen " Bill " Belichick ( ; born April 16 , 1952 ) is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He also has extensive authority over the Patriots ' football operations , effectively making him the team ' s general manager as well . Coaching continuously in various roles in the NFL since 1975 , Belichick earned his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991 . Following his firing in 1995 , he did not serve as a head coach again until 2000 with the Patriots . Since then , Belichick has coached the Patriots to five Super Bowl appearances : victories in Super Bowls XXXVI , XXXVIII , and XXXIX , and subsequent losses in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI . He was named the AP NFL Coach of the Year for the 2003 , 2007 and 2010 seasons . Belichick is the NFL ' s longest tenured active head coach . Early life . Bill Belichick was born in Nashville , Tennessee , and raised in Annapolis , Maryland , where his father Steve Belichick was an assistant football coach at the United States Naval Academy . He graduated from Annapolis High School in 1970 . While there , he played American football and lacrosse , with the latter being his favorite sport . He enrolled at Phillips Academy in Andover , Massachusetts for a postgraduate year , with the intention of improving his grades and test scores in order to be admitted into a quality college . The school would honor him forty years later by inducting him into its Athletics Hall of Honor in 2011 . Belichick subsequently attended Wesleyan University in Middletown , Connecticut where he played center and tight end . In addition to being a member of the football team , he played lacrosse and squash , serving as the captain of the lacrosse team during his senior season . A member of Chi Psi fraternity , he earned a bachelor ' s degree in economics in 1975 . He would eventually be part of the inaugural induction class into the university ' s Athletics Hall of Fame in Spring 2008 . Coaching career . Early coaching positions . After graduating , Belichick took a $ 25 - per - week job as an assistant to Baltimore Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda in 1975 . In 1976 , he joined the Detroit Lions as their assistant special teams coach before adding tight end s and wide receiver s to his coaching duties in 1977 . He spent the 1978 season with the Denver Broncos as their assistant special teams coach and defensive assistant . New York Giants . In 1979 , Belichick began his 12 - year stint with the New York Giants alongside head coach Ray Perkins as a defensive assistant and special teams coach . He added linebacker s coaching to his duties in 1980 and was named defensive coordinator in 1985 under head coach Bill Parcells , who had replaced Perkins in 1983 . The Giants won Super Bowls following the 1986 and 1990 seasons . His defensive game plan from the New York Giants ' 20 – 19 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Cleveland Browns . From 1991 until 1995 , Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns . During his tenure in Cleveland he compiled a 36 – 44 record , leading the team to the playoffs in 1994 , his only winning year with the team . Coincidentally , his one playoff victory during his Browns tenure was achieved against the Patriots in the wild card round during this postseason . In Belichick ' s last season in Cleveland the Browns finished 5 – 11 , despite starting 3 - 1 . In November of that year in the middle of the ongoing football season , Browns owner Art Modell had announced he would move his franchise to Baltimore after the season . After first being given assurances that he would coach the transplanted Baltimore Ravens , Belichick instead was fired on February 15 , 1996 — one week after the shift was officially announced . New England Patriots ( 1996 ) . After his dismissal by the new Baltimore Ravens , Belichick served under Parcells again as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the Patriots for the 1996 season . The Patriots finished with an 11 – 5 record , won the AFC championship , but lost to the Green Bay Packers at Super Bowl XXXI . New York Jets . Soon after Super Bowl XXXI , Belichick ( and most of the Patriots assistant coaches ) migrated with Parcells to the New York Jets . Belichick served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Jets from 1997 to 1999 . When Parcells stepped down as head coach in 1999 , he had already arranged with team management to have Belichick succeed him . However , Belichick would be the New York Jets ' head coach for only one day . When Belichick was introduced as head coach to the media — the day after his hiring was publicized — he turned it into a surprise - resignation announcement . Before taking the podium , he scrawled a resignation note on a sheet of loose leaf paper that read , in its entirety , " " I resign as HC of the NYJ . " " He then delivered a half - hour speech explaining his resignation to the assembled press corps . Soon after this bizarre turn of events , he was introduced as the Patriots ' 12th full - time head coach , succeeding the recently fired Pete Carroll . The Patriots had tried to hire him away from Parcells / the Jets in the past . Parcells and the Jets claimed that Belichick was still under contract to the Jets , and demanded compensation from the Patriots . NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agreed , and the Patriots gave the Jets a first - round draft pick in 2000 in exchange for the right to hire Belichick . New England Patriots ( 2000 – present ) . Soon after hiring Belichick , owner Robert Kraft gave him near - complete control over the team ' s football operations , effectively making him the team ' s general manager as well . He is one of four current NFL coaches with the title or powers of general manager , the others being the Seattle Seahawks ' Pete Carroll , Washington Redskins ' Mike Shanahan and The Kansas City Chiefs ' Andy Reid . Until 2009 , Belichick split many of the duties normally held by a general manager on other clubs with player personnel director Scott Pioli , though Belichick had the final say on football matters . Pioli left for the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2009 season . The Patriots went 5 – 11 in the 2000 regular season and missed the playoffs . To date , this is Belichick ' s only losing season with the Patriots . In 2001 , the Patriots went 11 – 5 in the regular season , and defeated the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on the way to the Super Bowl . In Super Bowl XXXVI , Belichick ' s defense held the St . Louis Rams ' offense , which had averaged 31 points during the season , to 17 points , and the Patriots won on a last second field goal by Adam Vinatieri . The win was the first Super Bowl championship in Patriots history . The following season ( 2002 ) — the first in Gillette Stadium — the Patriots went 9 – 7 and missed the playoffs . New England finished with the same record as the New York Jets , but the Jets clinched the AFC East title as a result of the third tiebreaker ( record among common opponents ) . The Patriots ' 2003 season started with a 31 – 0 loss to the Buffalo Bills in week 1 a few days after they released team defensive captain Lawyer Milloy . However , they roared through the remainder of the season to finish 14 - 2 , setting a new franchise record for wins in a season . In the final week of the regular season the Patriots avenged their loss to the Bills by the same 31 – 0 score . They defeated the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional round . Playing against the Indianapolis Colts and Co - MVP Peyton Manning ( Steve McNair of the Titans was also Co - MVP ) the Patriots recorded 4 interceptions , and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII , where they defeated the Carolina Panthers 32 – 29 on a late Adam Vinatieri field goal . Belichick also was awarded with the NFL Coach of the Year Award . In 2004 , the Patriots once again went 14 – 2 , and defeated the Colts in the AFC divisional round . They opened the season at 6 – 0 , which combined with the 15 straight wins to end the previous regular season , those 21 straight wins broke the record for most wins in a row ( 18 regular season wins in a row ) , formerly held by the Miami Dolphins during and just after their perfect 1972 season with 18 straight wins ( 16 regular season , 1971 – 73 ) . They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game . In Super Bowl XXXIX the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles and became only the second team to win three Super Bowls in four years . Belichick is the only coach to accomplish this feat . With a new defensive coordinator in Eric Mangini and no named offensive coordinator , the Patriots went 10 – 6 in 2005 and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card round before losing to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round . Earlier , with a season - opening win over the Raiders , Belichick notched his 54th win with the Patriots , passing Mike Holovak as the winningest coach in Patriots history . The Patriots went 12 – 4 in 2006 and defeated the New York Jets in the Wild Card round . They then beat the San Diego Chargers the next week , before losing to the eventual Super Bowl XLI winner Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game 38 – 34 . The Patriots led 21 – 3 mid - way during the second quarter , and the Colts comeback was the largest in AFC playoff history since the Bills recovered from a 35 – 3 halftime deficit to beat the Houston Oilers . In 2007 , Belichick led the Patriots to the first perfect regular season since the introduction of the 16 - game regular season schedule in 1978 , only the fourth team to do so in National Football League history after the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears and 1972 Miami Dolphins . However , the Patriots were upset in Super Bowl XLII by the New York Giants The Patriots ' failure to attain a " perfect season " ( undefeated and untied , including playoffs ) preserved the Miami Dolphins as the sole team to do so , having finished their 1972 regular season at 14 – 0 and having won three games in the playoffs . Only two other teams in professional football have recorded a perfect season — the 1948 Cleveland Browns ( 14 – 0 ) of the then All - America Football Conference and the 1948 Calgary Stampeders ( 12 – 0 ) of the Canadian Football League . No team in the former American Football League had a perfect season . In the Patriots ' 2008 season - opener against the Kansas City Chiefs , quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season - ending injury in the first quarter . Backup quarterback Matt Cassel was named the starter for the remainder of the season . However , with a win in week 2 , the Patriots broke their own record for regular season wins in a row with 21 ( 2006 – 08 ) . After losing over a dozen players to the injured reserve list , including Rodney Harrison , Adalius Thomas , and Laurence Maroney , the Patriots still managed their league - leading eighth consecutive season with a winning record , going 11 – 5 . Nevertheless , the Patriots , who finished second in the highly competitive AFC East , missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002 , losing tiebreakers to the Dolphins ( who won the division on the fourth tiebreaker , better conference record ) and the Ravens ( who beat out the Patriots for the last playoff spot due to a better conference record ) . The 1985 Denver Broncos are the only other 11 - win team to miss the playoffs in a 16 - game season . On January 22 , 2012 , the Patriots won the AFC Championship game beating the Baltimore Ravens 23 – 20 when the Ravens failed to score a touchdown and Baltimore ' s kicker , Billy Cundiff , missed a routine 32 - yard field goal attempt to tie the game and send it into overtime . This sent New England to their fifth Super Bowl under Belichick . In Super Bowl XLVI , the Patriots lost in the Super Bowl XLII rematch to the Giants 21 – 17 . On September 26 , 2012 , following a 31 - 30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , Belichick was fined $ 50 , 000 for grabbing a replacement official ' s arm while asking for more specific clarity on a ruling after Baltimore had narrowly converted a last - second field goal attempt to secure the win . The Patriots finished the 2012 regular season with a 12 - 4 record and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game before losing to the Baltimore Ravens , ending their season . Illegal sideline videotaping . In an incident dubbed " Spygate , " on September 9 , 2007 , NFL security caught a Patriots video assistant taping the New York Jets ' defensive signals from an on - field location . Jets coach Eric Mangini , a former Patriots assistant , tipped off league officials that the Patriots might have been filming their signals . After the game , the Jets formally complained to the league . On September 13 , the NFL fined Belichick $ 500 , 000 — the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the league ' s 87 - year history , and fined the Patriots $ 250 , 000 . Additionally , the Patriots forfeited their first round draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft . Goodell said that he fined the Patriots as a team because Belichick exercises so much control over the Patriots ' on - field operations that " his actions and decisions are properly attributed to the club . " Goodell considered suspending Belichick , but decided that taking away draft picks would be more severe in the long run . Gary Myers , New York Daily News columnist , stated Belichick should have been suspended by Goodell for the Patriots ' next game against the Jets . Belichick later issued the following statement : " I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight ' s ruling . Once again , I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment , distraction and penalty my mistake caused . I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career . [ . . . ] As the Commissioner acknowledged , our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week ' s game . We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress . [ . . . ] Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them . My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect . [ . . . ] With tonight ' s resolution , I will not be offering any further comments on this matter . We are moving on with our preparations for Sunday ' s game . " The sanctions against Belichick would be the harshest imposed on a head coach in league history until the New Orleans Saints ' Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season for allegedly covering up a scheme in which bounties were paid for deliberately knocking opponents out of games . Following the incident and its fallout , Belichick led the Patriots to a perfect 16 – 0 regular season record , and was awarded the 2007 NFL Coach of the Year Award , as voted on by the Associated Press . Contract status . Although the Patriots are known for being very secretive about the details of Belichick ' s contract , an ESPN . com report in September 2007 , shortly after the Spygate incident began , indicated that the Patriots had extended Belichick ' s contract , before the 2007 season began , through at least the 2013 season . Overall record in New England . Under Belichick , the Patriots have gone 139 – 53 – 0 in 12 seasons . Belichick is far and away the winningest coach in Patriots history ; his 139 wins with the franchise are more than double those of runner - up Holovak . He also sports a 17 – 7 record in the playoffs with New England , and 3 – 2 in Super Bowls . Belichick has led the Patriots to ten division titles , including five consecutive titles from 2003 to 2007 ( and only missed the playoffs on tiebreakers in 2002 and 2008 ) . The Patriots have also defeated each regular season MVP they have faced in that year ' s playoffs ( Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXVI , Peyton Manning and Steve McNair after the 2003 season , Manning in 2004 , LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 ) . Coaching tree . Bill Belichick has worked under five head coaches : Six of Belichick ' s assistant coaches have become NFL head coaches : Eight assistant coaches or players have become NCAA Division I head coaches : One assistant coach has become a Canadian Football League head coach : Fourteen assistant coaches or executives under Belichick have become assistant head coaches , coordinators or executives in the NFL : Belichick has been known to cultivate ties with the collegiate branches of his coaching tree : in the 2005 NFL Draft , the Patriots drafted two players from Fresno State , while in the 2006 NFL Draft , the Patriots drafted one Notre Dame player , and then signed two more as free agents after the draft . In addition , Belichick is a devoted student of the game ; during the offseason , he has spent significant amounts of time visiting with other programs to learn from their experiences . For example , he has studied the Navy run offense , sought Bill Walsh ( in past years ) to understand more about the San Francisco 49ers as an organization and the West Coast offense as a system , and spent time with Jimmy Johnson to learn about drafting and contract negotiations . Similarly , Belichick paid several visits to former University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer . Meyer considers himself a protégé of Belichick and has tried to emulate Belichick ' s success at New England . Former Rutgers University head coach Greg Schiano had been an annual visitor to New England Patriots ' minicamps prior to becoming the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Schiano has consulted with Belichick on a variety of topics , most notably defense . Personal life . Belichick was married to Debby Clarke , but they divorced in the summer of 2006 . They allegedly separated before the 2004 season , which was disclosed by the Patriots in July 2005 . Belichick was also accused of maintaining a relationship with former Giants receptionist Sharon Shenocca which helped precipitate her divorce . Belichick was seen with Linda Holliday of Jupiter , Florida several times in Arizona during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLII . Belichick also had Sharon Shenocca flown in for the game . He has three children with Debby Clarke Belichick : Amanda , Stephen and Brian . Amanda is a 2007 graduate of Wesleyan University , where both she and her father played lacrosse . After college , she worked at Connecticut preparatory school Choate Rosemary Hall as a lacrosse coach and member of the admissions department . In 2009 , she became an assistant coach for the University of Massachusetts Amherst women ' s lacrosse team , before joining the Ohio State Buckeyes in the same position the next year . Stephen played lacrosse and football at Rutgers University on scholarship . Stephen was hired as an assistant coach for the New England Patriots in May 2012 . Brian attends Trinity College where he plays lacrosse . Belichick is a Croatian American . His father , Steve Belichick ( born Stephen Biličić ) , played for the Detroit Lions and was an assistant coach and scout with the United States Naval Academy football team for 33 years . Bill reportedly learned to break down game films at a young age by watching his father and the Navy staff do their jobs . His paternal grandparents Ivan Biličić and Marija ( Mary ) Barković emigrated from Karlovac , Croatia ( from the village of Draganić ) in 1897 and left for the USA , where they settled in Monessen near Pittsburgh . Steve Belichick was an advisor on the sidelines of the Patriots through the 2004 season , and was famous for taking a hit accidentally from Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown in a game in 2000 ; he was not hurt in the incident . Steve Belichick maintained strong ties with the Croatian community in Pennsylvania . When he married , at the suggestion of Immigration Center , he changed his surname from Biličić into Belichick .