Stephen Belichick proud of his father's milestone victory: "That's a lot of games won"
FOXBORO -- Bill Belichick has been an NFL coach for nearly 50 years, and on Sunday, he moved into second place on the all-time wins list for a head coach. Usually, Belichick is only interested when his team is at the top of something, but this milestone is nothing to scoff at.
Belichick moved passed George Halas on the list with his 325th win on Sunday, and now trails only Don Schula's 347 career victories. The milestone is not lost on Stephen Belichick, who has seen his father devote his life to football for the 35 years that he's been alive. Now a defensive coach on Belichick's staff, Stephen has a front row seat for everything his father does for the New England Patriots and the game of football.
On Tuesday, Stephen reflected on his father's accomplishment during a Zoom session with reporters.
"We don't talk about that stuff a lot, but I'm not that naïve to not see what the stats are and appreciate that. That's a lot of games, a lot of games won, and a lot of time spent," the younger Belichick said of his father's milestone. "I've seen how hard he works for a long time, my whole life. Saw how hard my grandpa (Steven Belichick, a longtime coach and scout at Navy) worked and it's translated through my grandpa to my dad. I'm really proud of him."
Belichick quickly turned back into a Belichick and made it clear that the only thing on his and his father's mind right now is adding to that win total.
"I know he's not satisfied with that and it's just a number, but it's a significant number," said Steve. "I've seen all the hard work he's put in. I've seen a lot of people count him out, and I've seen him respond to a lot of adversity.
"I'm very proud. Proud to be his son and proud to see the work he's put in pay off," he continued. "Even if it's just one number; I know that's not what he was striving to do, like he just wanted 325 wins and now that he's hit that number, he's just going to stop. I know he'd be working just as hard if it were his 25th win.
"I'm really proud of him and glad he got to be recognized for it. But there is a lot more work to be done," Steve added.
The Belichicks will try to add another win to their resumes Sunday afternoon when the 4-4 Patriots host the 3-4-1 Indianapolis Colts.