Bill Belichick Honors First NFL Boss: 'I Wouldn't Be Here If It Wasn't For Ted Marchibroda'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
FOXBORO (CBS) -- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick won his 23rd playoff game as a head coach in the NFL on Saturday, widening his lead for most all time over Tom Landry (20).
But it wasn't an entirely happy day for Belichick, as his first NFL boss passed away earlier in the day.
Ted Marchibroda, the former Colts coach who hired Belichick in 1975, died at the age of 84.
Belichick spoke fondly of Marchibroda after the Patriots' win over the Chiefs, and he spoke at length about the man who gave him his first job in professional football.
Here's what Belichick had to say:
"It is with a real heavy heart that I stand here. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Ted Marchibroda. He gave me a great opportunity. I learned so much from him. A lot of X's and O's, but it really wasn't the X's and O's. It was a lot more about just being a football coach, being a professional coach, preparation, work ethic, dependability, what goes into having a good football team.
"You know, every time I heard about the Kansas City Chiefs -- they had a tremendous year this year, I'm not taking anything away from them -- but you know, they started off 1-5 and then won whatever it is, 11 straight. That was us in 1975. That was my first year in the NFL, and we were 1-4, and won our next nine straight, whatever it was, and then lost to Pittsburgh in probably a game similar to this.
"Driving down to take the league and gave up an interception that was taken back 95 yards for a touchdown, and so the game kind of got away from us. But it was that same kind of team -- it was a young team that got off to a slow start, but we gained our confidence. And that taught me a great lesson in football of just, keep working, keep fighting, one day at a time, don't worry about the record at the end of the year. Just have a good day, have another good day, win this week and then move on to next week.
"That's what we did in 1975. Ted gave that team great leadership; they were like 2-4 the year before we got there, or something like that. 2-12, however many games there were. They were terrible. But he gave the team great confidence, great leadership.
"Ted's one of the most positive people I've ever been around. He was always confident. Even if it was fourth-and-17, he was always sure we were going to make the play or do what we needed to do.
"And he was such a great person for me. I lived with Ted, we stayed in the same hotel. I drove him to work every day, drove him home every day, we had our staff meetings in the car, we ate breakfast together. He was such a mentor and I just can't say enough about Ted, and I know everybody that's coached and worked with him probably has the same exact feelings and they'll probably tell you the same exact story, because that's what Ted was.
"My sympathies to Ted's family and his kids, I know his grandchildren, and he's a got a great family. He's a great father, and a great grandfather. It's a sad day. It's a sad day."