Legendary coaches: Patriots' Belichick, Bears' Halas have much more in common than 324 wins

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Andy Reid is connected the different extremity of the telephone, sharing thoughts connected Bill Belichick. His position is 1 fewer tin provide.

"We astir apt downplay however you person to run arsenic a caput manager successful this league, particularly america older ones. We don't speech overmuch astir it," helium says.

"To beryllium capable to digest each that and beryllium arsenic productive arsenic helium is, and person the relationships helium has with the players, is simply a phenomenal thing. We're fortunate to person him successful this league, doing what he's doing astatine this contiguous time. You ne'er instrumentality that for granted arsenic guys get older."

Reid, the 64-year-old Kansas City Chiefs coach, has carved retired clip to admit the magnitude of what his adjacent person Belichick, 70, is connected the cusp of accomplishing.

If Belichick's New England Patriots bushed the Chicago Bears connected Monday nighttime (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN), Belichick volition determination past legendary Bears manager George Halas into sole possession of 2nd spot connected the NFL's all-time head-coaching wins database (regular play and postseason combined).

Entering Monday night, it's Miami Dolphins fable Don Shula connected apical astatine 347, past Halas and Belichick astatine 324.

BELICHICK AND HALAS mightiness beryllium tied successful victories, but they person commonalities beyond the triumph column.

Belichick's ties to Halas came done his father, Steve, the longtime assemblage shot manager who knew immoderate of the assistants connected Halas' unit successful the 1950s and 1960s. Steve Belichick had besides coached backmost Bill Wade astatine Vanderbilt earlier Wade went connected to play for Halas' Bears, helping pb them to the 1963 NFL championship.

The Belichicks were based successful Annapolis, Maryland, truthful erstwhile the Bears visited the Baltimore Colts, further connections were made.

"We would spell to the locker country aft the game. They were ever precise gracious and generous, fto maine bent astir and worldly similar that," Belichick recalled. "I person a ton of respect for Coach Halas and the McCaskey household and what helium did for nonrecreational football."

Halas' eldest child, Virginia, joined Edward McCaskey successful 1943 and became main proprietor of the Bears upon Halas' decease successful 1983.

Reid, 5th each clip successful wins astatine 257, carries a batch of respect for Halas too.

"He was 1 of the forefathers. He helped acceptable the gait for what we person today," helium said of Halas, the precocious player, coach, proprietor and Hall of Famer nicknamed "Papa Bear."

"That's the portion I respect the most. He did it for truthful galore years and had the vigor to bash it, inactive raising a household and doing each the things you request to bash arsenic a dad, coach, owner, wide manager, president. And helium played the crippled connected apical of that. I person the utmost respect for the things helium did, and peculiarly the instauration helium helped laic for each of america today."

When Belichick shared his recollections of Halas pursuing the Patriots' 38-15 victory implicit the Browns past Sunday successful Cleveland, fixed the location, helium included erstwhile Browns and Bengals manager Paul Brown (15th successful all-time wins).

"I astir apt shouldn't marque that list. They were my idols," Belichick said.

"What [Halas] did for nonrecreational football, and Paul Brown and others similar that who paved the mode for america arsenic coaches and paved the mode for the National Football League to turn into what it is today, they laid a batch of the gathering blocks."

HALAS' LEGACY WITH the Bears is inactive evident during each of their games. The near sleeve of the team's azygous includes the initials "GSH" -- for George Stanley Halas -- a reflection of his presumption arsenic laminitis of the franchise successful 1920 erstwhile they were initially known arsenic the Decatur Staleys.

In all, helium won six NFL championships and coached the Bears for 40 seasons, though they weren't consecutive. He stepped distant 3 times: 1930-32, 1942-45 (to service successful the subject during World War II) and 1956-57.

Ed Stone was the Bears bushed newsman astatine the Chicago's American -- the day paper of the Chicago Tribune -- and covered the commencement of the 1963 play that delivered Halas' last title.

"He was a precise pugnacious coach. He was precise meticulous successful everything helium did successful his mentation for the team," Stone, present 89, told ESPN.

"He was not an outspoken man. At his idiosyncratic appearances, helium was often reluctant to speak. Our paper had a Bears lawsuit each truthful often, and helium would usually nonstop an adjunct manager alternatively of himself. But helium could beryllium precise antithetic personally than helium was arsenic a coach; I would accidental helium was a overmuch nicer, gentler idiosyncratic disconnected the tract than helium was connected it."

Sounds akin to the manager presently stalking the sideline successful New England who, similar Halas, has won six championships arsenic a caput coach.

"He's got a large personality, which radical don't see," Reid said of Belichick, who is successful his 48th consecutive play coaching successful the NFL. "Good consciousness of humor. Very witty. I deliberation everyone knows he's precise intelligent, but he's well-rounded successful that area, it's not conscionable football.

"He does a tremendous magnitude for people, whether it's ex-players oregon helping retired with the antithetic radical helium knows, giving them things they request successful their assemblage to beryllium successful. He's a giving idiosyncratic that way. I emotion the feline for what helium is."

HERE'S ANOTHER STRIKING similarity: As manager of the Bears, Halas was fiercely protective of immoderate accusation that could compromise competitory vantage -- from injuries to transactions.

"Whenever determination was a cutdown of unit earlier successful the season, erstwhile rosters had to beryllium reduced, helium was precise secretive astir that," Stone said. "When you would inquire him questions astir it, he'd say, 'That's backstage accusation and you shouldn't beryllium doing thing that would interfere with the cognition of the team.'

"He was precise secretive astir his practices, didn't similar anybody to cognize what they were planning."

In his 23 seasons arsenic Patriots coach, Belichick has often intimately followed a Halas-type script. The Patriots are traditionally 1 of the past teams to denote the archetypal 53-man roster, not giving different clubs the accusation earlier it's required. Ditto for the wounded study and transactions specified arsenic elevating a practice-squad subordinate to the game-day roster.

And arsenic for Belichick's quality conferences, Halas would apt beryllium proud, considering Stone's recollections of what it was similar covering the Bears.

"He was a precise absorbing feline with the press, successful that helium would be, successful his mind, precise cooperative. But the section writers understood they weren't going to get overmuch from him," Stone said.

"When helium would get out-of-town writers astir him, I tin retrieve them holding their pens supra their pads of insubstantial and not penning thing down due to the fact that helium wasn't saying thing they could use. But helium would inhabit their clip and entertain them for a play of time."

ROSTER MANAGEMENT AND innovation proved to beryllium a cardinal to Belichick's and Halas' success, too.

Don Pierson started moving astatine the Chicago Tribune successful 1967, which was Halas' last play arsenic coach. Thus, his sum of the Bears was mostly erstwhile Halas, who died successful 1983, was focusing connected his front-office and ownership duties. Through that acquisition and talking to Halas astir his coaching career, Pierson sees a nexus betwixt Halas and Belichick successful presumption of however their teams were run.

"Belichick is not the owner, helium doesn't person the rubric of wide manager, but I'm definite beauteous overmuch what helium says goes. Of course, Halas, that would beryllium similar. Very autocratic," helium said, earlier sharing different transportation successful however they built their teams.

"[Halas] was capable to power his roster astir apt amended than anyone other successful the league astatine that clip to find the players helium wanted. He would commercialized distant players to Pittsburgh -- they'd beryllium connected indebtedness -- and a mates years aboriginal they'd beryllium back. That benignant of thing.

"The different happening that characterized his coaching is that helium hired precise bully assistants and allowed them to coach. He hired the feline [Clark Shaughnessy] who practically invented the T enactment with men successful motion. So precise innovative successful that regard."

Belichick's innovation is good documented, with examples including a dense accent connected "situational football," antiaircraft spacing and positional versatility, among different things. As is his knack for gathering an annually competitory roster -- usually with a beardown mediate people of players astatine midrange salaries -- contempt restrictions from a wage headdress designed to make leaguewide parity.

Jerod Mayo played for Belichick from 2008 to 2014 and is successful his 4th play serving arsenic an adjunct manager connected his staff. Acknowledging that immoderate manager needs bully players to triumph games, Mayo highlighted wherefore helium believes Belichick is astir to surpass Halas.

"One happening astir Coach is his willingness to evolve," helium said. "His willingness to instrumentality proposal from antithetic people. It doesn't substance wherever you are connected the spectrum -- young, old, Black, white. He takes each those things into consideration, and erstwhile you bash that, you benignant of minimize your unsighted spots. He has radical astir him who volition archer him the truth."

ON THE DAY helium tied Halas connected the all-time wins list, Belichick deflected recognition to the players, from his days arsenic a rising adjunct manager with the New York Giants, opening successful 1979, to his archetypal head-coaching job, with the Cleveland Browns (1991-95), to becoming the Patriots' caput manager successful 2000. He besides noted the enactment of adjunct coaches connected his staff.

By the pursuing day, helium was done addressing the milestone. When a vigor big congratulated him and asked what it meant to him, Belichick said, "This crippled isn't astir me, it's astir our team. Time to determination disconnected that subject. We've talked capable astir it."

Reid, successful his 31st consecutive play arsenic an NFL coach, understands that mindset.

Asked however overmuch helium senses the accomplishment means to Belichick, helium said, "I don't cognize that, due to the fact that helium doesn't speech astir that. You commencement counting numbers, coaches don't bash that, particularly ones that person been astir agelong capable to person NFL scar tissue. You conscionable instrumentality the adjacent 1 and spell for it.

"People talk, you perceive those things. So helium astir apt thinks astir it, but astir apt not for precise long, and gets connected with trying to get the adjacent win, which is highly hard successful this league."

Stone surmises that's precisely however Halas would person approached his record. Halas had a sizable borderline by the clip helium retired successful 1967, his 324 wins good up of Green Bay Packers fable Curly Lambeau's 229. Halas' grounds was breached by Shula successful 1993, with Dolphins players carrying him disconnected the tract and Shula saying, "It was precise emotional, and astatine the aforesaid time, I'm gladsome it's over."

The grounds wasn't a blistery taxable betwixt reporters and Halas.

"I ne'er discussed it with him, and I don't cognize if helium was that acrophobic astir it. My feeling is that helium was astir apt conscionable acrophobic astir the adjacent crippled they played," Stone said of Halas.

"That [record] wasn't portion of his ego."

For Belichick this week, that means he's "on to Chicago."

But those who locomotion successful his coaching shoes and respect his spot among the game's coaching legends are blessed to admit what he's connected the cusp of accomplishing.

"It's an astonishing number," Reid said. "It's truthful good deserved, for the effort helium puts in. He's a relentless worker. I tin spot however it's been done due to the fact that he's a heck of a shot coach."