Bill Belichick wins Coach of the Year

By Ryan Hannable

Wednesday of this week Bill Belichick was named the 2010 NFL Coach of the Year. This is his third Coach of the Year Award. Although the end result of the season was not what Belichick wanted, this award is based on regular season only and that is why he was the clear-cut choice to win the award.

Belichick had 30 of the possible 50 votes. Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris had 11.5 and Todd Haley of the Chiefs had four. Pretty unanimous choice I would say.

And for good reason. No one had ever thought that the 2010 Patriots team would go 14-2 and win their last eight regular season games. Not with such a young defense Belichick had put together. Especially not after the day the Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Vikings.

Some thought that this was Belichicks best coaching job ever. Well, not with losing in the divisional round of the playoffs it wasn't, but if the Patriots had won the Super Bowl I think people would have a pretty good case. 2001, the year the Patriots won the Super Bowl over the Rams would be Belichick's best coaching job.

Regardless of the way the season ended, the 2010 was a very good beginning for this Patriots team. There were a lot of new faces, especially on defense and they showed that they have a great deal of potential. Under Belichick's guidance, the 2011 Patriots team should be one of the favorites to represent the AFC in Indianapolis next January.

I will be posting periodically this off-season with anything Patriots related that may come up. Feel free to email me at ryanhannable@yahoo.com with any questions or comments. Follow me on Twitter at Hannable84.