Bill Belichick closing in on George Halas for second in all-time wins

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will likely catch legendary Chicago Bears head coach George Halas in all-time wins soon.

The passing of Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula on Monday has stirred up memories of his place as an all-time great in NFL history. Shula, who died at 90 years old, remains the league’s winningest head coach with 328 regular season victories and 19 playoff wins for a grand total of 347 victories.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is currently third on that same list with 273 regular season victories and 31 playoff wins for a total of 304 wins.

The man in between them? That would be Chicago Bears head coach George Halas.

Halas has 318 regular season victories and six playoff wins for a grand total of 324 wins.

Belichick’s legacy has long since been assured, of course. He has the most playoff wins of all head coaches ever, plus he has six Super Bowl rings as head coach of the Patriots and two Super Bowl rings as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He’s widely regarded as the greatest coach of all time.

Still, you’d better believe that the uber-competitive Belichick knows exactly how many win are left between him and Halas — and probably how many remain between him and Shula, too, for that matter.

While it might take a while for Belichick to earn the 46 regular season victories he needs to pass Halas if we’re talking strictly regular season games, he has a much better chance of leapfrogging the Bears legend for No. 2 all-time in total wins … and it could happen as soon as next year.

Obviously, it all depends on just how good or bad this Patriots team is in 2020 and then in 2021.

Vegas has a pessimistic view of New England sans Tom Brady, with Caesars Sportsbook projecting them to go 8-8 or 9-7 at best this season. If that happens, it’s unlikely that the Patriots make the playoffs — although keep in mind that with the new format this year that includes seven teams from each conference, it actually could happen.

If the Patriots manage to defy Vegas’ expectations and post a record more in line with what they’ve done over the past 20 years — something like 11-5 or 12-4 — then Belichick would gain significant ground on Halas.

If we include playoff victories in the total count, Halas is just 20 all-time wins ahead of Belichick. Belichick should be able to at least slice that lead in half this year even if the Patriots go just 9-7 and win one playoff game. If they do better than that with their record or their postseason campaign, then even better.

What all this means though is that it’s very, very likely Belichick passes Halas for No. 2 in all-time wins sometime in 2021.

The Patriots would have to be mediocre or worse in back-to-back seasons for him not to pass Halas sometime next season, and the odds of that happening with Belichick at the helm and a defense this good are slim to none. The AFC East, even with Buffalo’s gains, is still one of the weaker divisions in the NFL, after all.

It would be a terrific story for Belichick to pass Halas’ mark with a playoff win during the 2021/2022 campaign. The cinematic route would be to have him tie Halas at 324 wins with a victory in the AFC Championship Game, then break the record outright with a Super Bowl championship over the Chicago Bears.

Belichick’s pursuit of the No. 1 overall spot will take significantly longer though. He needs 43 total wins to tie Shula and 44 wins to overtake him for the best mark of all-time.

Considering that Belichick averages about 12 wins per season (including playoffs), he’s projected to pass Shula’s mark during the second half of the 2023 season. If the Patriots falter post-Brady in 2020 or beyond, that average won’t mean anything though, of course.

Belichick’s age will also play a key factor in his chase of Shula. Right now, he’s 68 years old and has shown no signs of slowing down. If anything, he’s probably particularly motivated right now to win a Lombardi Trophy without Brady at quarterback.

Still, he’ll be 71 by the time the 2023 season rolls around. His good buddy Dante Scarnecchia, the longtime Patriots offensive line coach, just retired recently (seemingly for good this time) at the age of 72.

What do you think?

Will Belichick catch Halas for all-time wins during the 2021 season, or will he have to wait longer? And do you think he’ll coach long enough — and have enough success without Brady — to break Shula’s all-time mark and take over the top spot eventually before retiring?

Let us know your predictions in the comments section below!