Hindsight

During the years I was a football junkie, I couldn't get enough of the sport. I'd watch the games on television, and supplement my habit by buying as many football magazines as I could afford, usually buying them at a much faster rate than I could ever read them. As a result, I have football magazines stacked all over the place. It's okay, though, because now I enjoy pulling them out, reading them at my leisure, and enjoying the chance to examine their contents with the benefit of hindsight, which is almost always 20/20.

This afternoon, I've been reading an issue of The Sporting News dated January 17th, 2000. A Tennessee Titan player is on the cover, and most of the magazine features articles about the NFL playoffs, which were just underway at the time.

One TSN feature is Dan Pompei's Insider column, and in the issue at hand, Pompei dedicates the space to a rip job on Bill Belichick, who at the time was an assistant with the Jets, but being strongly considered for the head coaching position with the New England Patriots. Pompei was in a lather about that, and went on and on about what a monumental mistake it would be to hire Belichick. He based his argument on Belichick's experience as head coach with the Cleveland Browns (1991-1995), and what he perceived as Belichick's many flaws and personality defects. The kindest part of Pompei's analysis was that Belichick was a testament to The Peter Principle, which contends that people rise in hierarchies until they reach their level of incompetence. Pompei describes Belichick as a control freak who tried to control the media and failed. Maybe that explains the diatribe.

Now we know that Belichick was in fact hired by the Patriots, and has just completed a decade in the job (2000-2009). His New England record is 126-52, including 14-4 in playoff games. He has a Super Bowl record of 3-1, and has won his AFC division seven out of ten years. There are media analysts who consider the Patriots the best team of the 2000s.

Yeah, hiring Belichick turned out to be a catastrophe for the Patriots, right ? As I said, hindsight is usually 20/20, but Pompei's article illustrates the reason the opinions of sportswriters can be taken lightly, or ignored completely.