Six-time Tremendous Bowl-winning head coach Invoice Belichick superior to the ultimate 12 coaches within the working for the 2026 class for the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame.
Belichick is in his first yr of eligibility after rule modifications put in place final yr that shrank the requirement for a way lengthy coaches must be out of the NFL earlier than they are often thought-about for the Corridor to just one full season.
Two-time Tremendous Bowl champion coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan and George Seifert additionally superior, together with one other Tremendous Bowl winner in Mike Holmgren.
The opposite coaches within the working are Invoice Arnsparger, Alex Gibbs, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer and Clark Shaughnessy.
A blue-ribbon committee will cut back the sphere to 9 semifinalists subsequent month and ultimately down to 1 finalist. Holmgren earned that spot final yr however fell quick within the closing vote. The coach can be grouped with one contributor and three seniors candidates. One to 3 of these 5 finalists will make it to the Corridor based mostly on getting a minimum of 80% of the votes from the complete committee.
Belichick was the architect of the New England Patriots dynasty within the 2000s, main the franchise to 6 Tremendous Bowl titles and three different appearances within the recreation throughout an 18-year span from 2001 to 2018. Belichick's 333 wins within the common season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland is the second most to Don Shula's 347.
Belichick additionally was one the sport's high defensive assistants earlier than taking on New England, successful two extra Tremendous Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
Belichick's tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season, and he's now teaching in faculty at North Carolina with a workforce that's 2-4 in his first season.
Belichick, Coughlin, Shanahan and Seifert are among the many 14 coaches who've gained a number of Tremendous Bowls. 9 of these coaches are already in, with the opposite being Andy Reid, nonetheless lively and thus not but eligible.
Coughlin coached 20 years for Jacksonville and the Giants. He led the Jaguars to the AFC title recreation of their second season as a franchise and again once more within the 1999 season. However his biggest success got here after taking on the Giants in 2004.
He led the franchise to a Tremendous Bowl title within the 2007 season when New York upset the undefeated Patriots, then knocked off Belichick, Tom Brady and New England once more 4 years later. Coughlin completed with a 170-150 regular-season report.
Seifert helped San Francisco win two titles as a defensive coordinator underneath Invoice Walsh after which two extra as head coach after taking on for Walsh in 1989.
He gained a minimum of 10 video games in all eight of his seasons in control of the 49ers, along with his 98-30 report (.766) the most effective for any coach with a minimum of 100 video games on a single workforce. However he was unable to duplicate that success in three seasons with Carolina, going 16-32.
Shanahan was the offensive coordinator underneath Seifert on San Francisco's 1994 championship workforce after which gained back-to-back titles as head coach in Denver in 1997-98. Shanahan completed with a 170-138 report for the Raiders, Broncos and Washington, and his affect on the sport remains to be sturdy right now by way of his disciples, together with his son, Kyle, who coaches San Francisco.
4 different present NFL head coaches labored underneath Shanahan in Washington — Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur and Raheem Morris — and the offensive system he introduced into the league that tied the surface zone run with the passing recreation remains to be essentially the most prevalent within the NFL right now.
Gibbs was the longtime offensive line coach for Shanahan in Denver and helped implement the zone-running scheme that was the muse of the offense.
Holmgren preceded Shanahan as offensive coordinator in San Francisco and in addition had a huge impact on future coaches, with Reid and Jon Gruden happening to win Tremendous Bowls after working underneath Holmgren in Inexperienced Bay. Holmgren had a 161-111 report for the Packers and Seahawks, successful the title in 1996. He additionally obtained to the Tremendous Bowl the next season in Inexperienced Bay after which once more within the 2005 season in Seattle.
