Bill Bellichick

If you're looking for a nice little piece about Bill, look somewhere else: Number 19. Mr. Cleveland. "The smartest quarterback in football." He was the man that who us to the doorstep 3 times in 4 tries. He was the epitome of Cleveland football, perhaps even the most popular player in Browns history, but by 1990, BK was on the DL and the Brownies were 3-13. Coach Carson had been given his exile, and the Browns were ready to enter a new era, with a seasoned veteran running the O and the hottest new coaching prospect guiding the team. Bill Bellichick (we will refer to him as BelliCHOKE) was the most sought after head coach in the biz, guiding the unstoppable NY Giants defense to 2 Super Bowl wins. He was Art's coach of choice, and as I remember he was the fan's choice as well. Once signed, Art declared that he was "the last coach that I will hire." It's ironic, but that one statement ended up having a degree of truth, and it also helped to bring down not only Kosar, but the entire organization. Bellichoke envisioned turning the Browns into an NFC East style team. This recipe had been proven, as New York and Washington had 3 Lombardi trophies between them in the last 5 years. 'Choke seemed to be doing something right as the Browns ended the first half of the season with a 4-4 record. Three close losses ended the season, but BK still had 18 TD's and seemed to be back to his old self. The next season was a huge disappointment, as the Browns finished with a 7-9 record. Bernie was hurt again, and only played 7 games. Cleveland went out that off-season and acquired Vinnie Testaverde, who would be a reliable backup for C-town should Bernie get hurt. The '93 season started off with a bang, as the Browns went 3-0, including a decisive victory against the 49ers. However, BORING-chick's style of offense was beginning to wear thin with BK. Kosar's defiance of the coach was wearing thin with 'Choke too. Kosar would audible out of up-the-middle running plays, and throw touchdowns. Things finally erupted in game 3. Kosar audibled out of a 'Choke play again. It went for a TD again, but this time, Coach and QB had a spat on the sidelines, and BK was pulled from the game (I believe). From then on, Kosar was pulled almost immediately game after game in favor of Vinnie. Finally, in week 8, The press conference we all dreaded came out. BK was officially put on waivers, after 9 seasons of hard work. "Diminishing Skills" still rings in my head, but later rumors would fly about the injury factor as well. To this day, I know of only one person that though BK had diminishing skills...Bellichoke himself. The bottom line in all of this was that 'Choke was Art's man, and BK was 'Choke's decision.

Yr:	Team	W	L	T	Pct	Finish	Playoffs
1991	Cleveland	6	10	0	.375	3rd AFC C	-
1992	Cleveland	7	9	0	.438	3rd AFC C	-
1993	Cleveland	7	9	0	.438	3rd AFC C	-
1994	Cleveland	11	5	0	.688	2nd AFC C	1-1
1995	Cleveland	5	11	0	.313	3rd AFC C	-
NFL	Totals	36	44	0	.450		1-1