NFL All Quarter Century team: Best 53-man roster, coaches

 

Aaron Schatz

Seth Walder

Jun 18, 2025, 06:45 AM ET

 

Coaching staff

Bill Belichick, head coach

We wrestled back and forth here, considering both Belichick and Andy Reid. Reid has the advantage of sustained success with multiple quarterbacks and multiple franchises, but we went with Belichick because of his superior success in the postseason: nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl championships.

Belichick also won in different ways. His early Patriots teams were more about the defense, highlighted by a game plan that slowed down the 2001 Rams' dynamic offense. The midcareer Patriots were offensive juggernauts. At the end of his New England tenure, the team went back to being defense-first, highlighted by a 13-3 victory in its final Super Bowl. – Schatz