Coaches in any sport who are largely devoid of ego often admit, “It’s not the Xs and Os but the Jimmys and Joes” that are most often the difference between victory and defeat.
In other words, you better have pretty good players if you expect to win championships. And never is that more true than in the National Football League as it pertains to quarterbacks. If you don’t believe me, check out the resumes of New England head coach Bill Belichick – supposedly the greatest NFL coach who ever lived – and his former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who still looks like the best pro QB ever after taking his talents to Tampa Bay the past two seasons.
History will show that Belichick has won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the Patriots, which is the most of any coach in NFL history. However, it also shows he’s never won one without Brady as his quarterback. Moreover, Tommy Trophy won a seventh – also the most by any QB in Super Bowl history – with the Bucs a season ago.
So, is it not more than fair to ask who was more important to the Pats’ outrageous success – Belichick or Brady?
But let’s not stop there. Instead, let’s dig deeper into the coaches and quarterbacks of all 55 Super Bowl winners to date, beginning with the Green Bay Packers at the close of the 1966 season all the way up to Tampa Bay this time last year.