NBC Sports Boston columnist Tom E. Curran’s thoughts on the end to the partnership between the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick, one that delivered 6 Super Bowls to Foxboro.
Bill Belichick loves the history of football, and he is still chasing one of the sport’s most impressive records.
The 71-year-old moved to second place on the all-time NFL coaches wins list after breaking a tie with Chicago Bears legend George Halas in 2022. Belichick still has a ways to go between himself and the winningest coach in league history, and he will look to chase the record down with another team.
Belichick and the New England Patriots decided to part ways in January after 24 seasons together. He reportedly is intent on continuing his coaching career with history in sight, but he won’t be on the sidelines in 2024 after the coaching carousel came and went.
How many wins will it take for Belichick to get the No. 1 spot? Here is a look at the NFL head coaches who won the most games in their careers:
Which NFL head coach has the most wins in history?
Don Shula won more games than any other head coach in NFL history.
The Hall of Famer spent the first seven years of his head coaching career with the Baltimore Colts and led the team to a Super Bowl III appearance in the 1968 season. He joined the Miami Dolphins after the 1969 season, and that’s where he began his path to legendary status.
NFL
In just his third season with the Dolphins, Shula’s group became the first and only undefeated team in history. Miami went 14-0 in the 1972 regular season and continued its winning ways in the playoffs, capping the run off with a Super Bowl VII triumph over Washington. The team repeated as champions the following season.
Shula wound up winning 328 regular season games and 19 playoff matchups during his 33 years as an NFL head coach. His 347 career victories give him a slight cushion over Belichick and Halas, but the former still has a chance to catch up.
Here are the top 10 winningest coaches in NFL history:
1. Don Shula: 347 (328 regular season, 19 playoff)
2. Bill Belichick: 333 (302 regular season, 31 playoff)
3. George Halas: 324 (318 regular season, 6 playoff)
4. Andy Reid: 284 (258 regular season, 26 playoff)
5. Tom Landry: 270 (250 regular season, 20 playoff)
6. Curly Lambeau: 229 (226 regular season, 3 playoff)
7. Paul Brown: 222 (213 regular season, 9 playoff)
8. Chuck Noll: 209 (193 regular season, 16 playoff)
9. Marty Schottenheimer 205 (200 regular season, 5 playoff)
10. Dan Reeves: 201 (190 regular season, 11 playoff)
Which active NFL head coach has the most wins?
With Belichick out of a head coaching job entering 2024, Andy Reid dominates this category. Big Red made up some ground on Belichick and separated from the rest of the pack with the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023.
After Reid, there is a significant drop. Here is where he stands against the rest of the top 10 among active coaches in terms of total wins entering 2024:
1. Andy Reid: 284 (258 regular season, 26 playoff)
2. Mike Tomlin: 181 (173 regular season, 8 playoff)
3. Mike McCarthy: 178 (167 regular season, 11 playoff)
4. John Harbaugh: 172 (160 regular season, 12 playoff)
5. Sean Payton: 169 (160 regular season, 9 playoff)
6. Sean McDermott: 78 (73 regular season, 5 playoff)
7. Sean McVay: 77 (70 regular season, 7 playoff)
8. Kyle Shanahan: 72 (64 regular season, 8 playoff)
9. Doug Pederson: 65 (60 regular season, 5 playoff)
10. Matt LaFleur: 59 (56 regular season, 3 playoff)
Which NFL head coach has won the most Super Bowls?
Belichick passed Halas in another historic way back in February of 2019.
A Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams gave the Patriots – and Belichick – their sixth championship. New England tied the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowls for a team, but the victory put Belichick alone as the first NFL head coach to win six championships. Belichick passed Halas and Vince Lombardi, who both won five titles, with the Super Bowl triumph.
Here are all the head coaches to win at least three NFL/AFL championships in their careers:
1. Bill Belichick: 6
T-2. George Halas: 5
T-2. Vince Lombardi: 5
4. Chuck Noll: 4
T-5. Don Shula: 3
T-5. Curly Lambeau: 3
T-5. Paul Brown: 3
T-5. Weeb Eubank: 3
T-5. Hank Stram: 3
T-5. Bill Walsh: 3
T-5. Joe Gibbs: 3
T-5: Andy Reid: 3
