Patriots: A look back at Bill Belichick’s head coaching days in Cleveland
By Morgan Jayne
Before the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns face off in their week 6 matchup, let’s look back at Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s time as head coach of the Browns.
Following his departure from the New York Giants, Bill Belichick became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns franchise in 1991.
In his first game as head coach, the Browns would lose at home to the Dallas Cowboys.
In a bit of irony, the Browns would pick up their first win, on the road, against the Patriots in Week 2. They continued their momentum into Week 3 when they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals at home.
The Browns would suffer a loss in week 4 from Belichick’s former employer, the New York Giants. Their bye week came in Week 5, the Browns would then go on to have a 4-8 record, giving them an overall 6-10 season record. They finished third in their division.
In 1992, the Browns once again opened their season with a loss, this time against the Indianapolis Colts. Their first win would come in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Raiders.
By week 10, the team were 5-4, from there they went 2-5. Overall they ended the season, 7-9, a slight improvement from the previous year, also placing third in their division for the second consecutive year.
Bill Belichick had quarterback drama prior to coaching the New England Patriots
In 1993, Belichick looked to capitalize on the teams growing improvements. The Browns started strong, winning 5 of their first 7 games. Throughout the season, Belichick and quarterback Bernie Kosar would collide as each had differing views on play calling and coaching strategies.
In the Week 10 matchup against the Denver Broncos, Kosar defied Belichick’s play-calling and threw a touchdown in the final moments of the game. The Browns lost the game 29-14. Belichick was furious with Kosar and cut him from the team not long after. All wouldn’t end badly for Kosar as he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and won a Super Bowl to end the 1993 season.
The Browns season started hot and ended cold as the Denver loss was the start of a a 2-7 finish to the season. They ended 7-9 and once again third in their division.
Despite their troubles in the previous year, the 1994 season saw a turning point for the Browns. They were off to a hot start winning eight of their first 10 games. Belichick had also brought in linebackers from his time with the Giants, Carl Banks and Pepper Johnson, and they helped give Cleveland the number one ranked defense.
The team would finish the season with an impressive 11-5 record and second place in their division. They also reached the playoffs for the first time in the 90s. They defeated the Patriots in the Wild Card Round but would lose in the Divisional Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Failure in Cleveland led to future success for Belichick with the New England Patriots
The Browns entered the 1995 season with optimism after their short but still notable 1994 playoff run. They opened the season with a loss to the Patriots but would win their next three games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Oilers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Later in the season, team owner Art Modell announced the team would be relocating to Baltimore after the season. This decision proved terrible for the Browns, and their fans, as the team lost 6 of their last 7 games.
They ended the season with a hopeless 5-11 record and fourth place in their division. As the season ended, Modell had assured Belichick that he would remain the teams head coach, however just a few weeks later, Belichick was fired.
Next. New England Patriots are overdue for a good quarterback controversy. dark
Just four years after getting fired from the Browns, Belichick became the New England Patriots head coach and the rest is truly history. The Patriots have gone on to win six Super Bowls and the Browns have suffered through countless losing seasons.
The Patriots and Browns will meet for the 27th time overall when the teams face-off on Sunday. The overall series is tied, 13-13 however the Patriots lead the series in regular season games, 13-12.
The Patriots have a 5-8 record while playing in Cleveland. They are 2-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium and 3-2 at Cleveland Browns/First Engery Stadium.
Bill Belichick is currently 8-2 against his former team.