Coach of the year?

Interesting...so Belichick is coach of the year - for the second time (the first time was 2003). That's great. Even though he was suspected of cheating and was fined for it, implying that this was true. Then the team goes out with a chip on it's shoulder (a chip they put there themselves) and went 16-0. What a heartwarming story.

Guess how many times Bill Walsh (3 Super Bowl wins) was named Coach of the Year? Once. Chuck Noll (4 Super Bowl wins)? Once. Interesting that the best (or most sucessful) coaches of the 1970s and 1980s were named COTY only once each.

Interestingly, Mike Ditka (1985 &1988) and Joe Gibbs (1982 & 1983) were twice named COTY. Dan Reeves and Bill Parcells too. Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson? Once each.

What do you have to do to win COTY honors? Go undefeated, for one - I was glad (and a little surprised) to see that Don Shula was COTY four times, including his 1972 17-0 season.

I'm not so sure that a coach of a team that was 12-4 the previous year (the 2006 Patriots) should really get the nod for COTY. It seems to me to be violating the spirit of the award. Was Belichick really that overwhelming a candidate? The pieces were in place. If there is a General Manager of the Year, then the Patriots certainly should get that!

And don't bore me with the thinking that everything that happens with the Patriots is orchestrated by Belichick. I am sure this is the case with any good franchise. Let's for once, dispense with the accelerated hyperbole when talking about BB. He is still the coach that lost to the Cowher-coached Steelers three times in the same season when he was Cleveland's coach.

Other options for coach of the year? How about Cleveland's Romeo Crennel? Or Tom Coughlin? Both coaches were considered as good as fired during the first month of the season. How about Wade Phillips? Or Mike McCarthy? I didn't expect the Cowboys to be that good. Nor did I expect the Packers to even be near the playoffs. Honestly, did you?

Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio? And of course, Tony Dungy. He's just taken for granted. Even Jeff Fisher - 10-6 for the Titans? Wow. Even Mike Holmgren deserves a nod, even though I am not convinced that Seattle is for real.

And, sure, Mike Tomlin. Why not? Although since Noll and Cowher were overlooked during their careers...maybe Tomlin should wish for the same fate.