Bill Belicheck, We Hardly Knew Ye

Well, the New England Patriots head coach isn't dead quite yet.

But, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine at lunch today about the Patriots and it all of a suddenly became clear that the man I had supported for so long, looked up to and trusted to lead my beloved Patriots to yet another Super Bowl title is widely viewed...by a large majority of the NFL as, well, an asshole.

So I got to thinking: what has been said about Belicheck that could possibly tarnish his reputation as the best coach in pro football. Here's what I got.

He’s a notorious cheater (he was fined a record $500,000 by the NFL for illegally videotaping opposing teams’ defensive signals), a lousy sport (he stalked off the field before the clock ran out in the Pats’ 2008 Super Bowl loss), and an alleged home wrecker (he was accused of a long-running affair with a woman who was a receptionist for his former employer the New York Giants).

And according to Mike Ditka:

“I don’t care if Belichick wins twenty Super Bowls, he’s an asshole.”

Now, I love me some Patriots...but the evidence is stacked. Maybe if he brings us one more Super Bowl title I can overlook it (as will the rest of the football watching world). He's still a better coach than you'll ever be.