Bill Belichick - Coaching Tree

Coaching Tree

Bill Belichick has worked under five head coaches:

• Ted Marchibroda, Baltimore Colts (1975)
• Tommy Hudspeth, Detroit Lions (1976–1977)
• Red Miller, Denver Broncos (1978)
• Ray Perkins, New York Giants (1979–1982)
• Bill Parcells, New York Giants (1982–1990), New England Patriots (1996), New York Jets (1997–1999)

Six of Belichick's assistant coaches have become NFL head coaches:

• Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Browns (2005–2008), Kansas City Chiefs (2011–present)
• Al Groh, New York Jets (2000)
• Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos (2009–2010)
• Eric Mangini, New York Jets (2006–2008), Cleveland Browns (2009–2010)
• Nick Saban, Miami Dolphins (2005–2006)
• Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions (2009–present)

Six assistant coaches have become NCAA Division I head coaches:

• Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (1999–present)
  • Ferentz's son Brian Ferentz, who played for his father at Iowa from 2001–2005, joined the Patriots scouting department in 2008 and later their coaching staff in 2009
• Al Groh, Wake Forest (1981–1986), Virginia (2001–2009)
• Pat Hill, Fresno State (1997–2011)
• Bill O'Brien, Penn State (2012–present)
• Nick Saban, Michigan State (1995–1999), LSU (2000–2004), Alabama (2007–present)
  • Josh McDaniels was a graduate assistant under Saban in 1999 before joining the Patriots
• Charlie Weis, Notre Dame (2005–2009), Kansas (2011–present)
  • Two graduate assistants for Weis at Notre Dame, Shane Waldron and Patrick Graham, are now assistant coaches for Belichick

One assistant coach has become a Canadian Football League head coach:

• John Hufnagel, Calgary Stampeders (2008–present)

Eleven assistant coaches or executives under Belichick have become assistant head coaches, coordinators or executives in the NFL:

• Jeff Davidson, offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers (2007–2010), assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2006)
• Thomas Dimitroff, general manager for the Atlanta Falcons (2008–present)
• John Mitchell, assistant head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers (2007–present)
• Ozzie Newsome, general manager for the Baltimore Ravens (2002–present)
• Scott Pioli, general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs (2009–present)
• Joel Collier, assistant general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs (2009–present)
• Mike Tannenbaum, general manager for the New York Jets (2006–present)
• Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009–2011), offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins (2011), offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (2012–present)
• Rob Ryan, defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys (2011–), defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009–2010), defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders (2004–2008)
• Brad Seely, special teams coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers (2011–present), assistant head coach/special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009–2011)
• Charlie Weis, offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (2010)
• Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams (2011)

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.