The New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 are a professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team based in Foxborough, Massachusetts

Foxborough, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,246 people, 6,141 households, and 4,396 families residing in the town. The population density was 809.1 people per square mile . There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 313.7 per square mile...

. They are a member of the East Division

AFC East

The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets...

 of the American Football Conference

American Football Conference

The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

 (AFC) in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (NFL). The team began as the Boston Patriots in the American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

, a league which merged

AFL-NFL Merger

The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...

 with the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 before the 1970 season

1970 NFL season

The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...

.

There have been 14 head coaches for the Patriots franchise. Lou Saban

Lou Saban

Louis Henry Saban was an American football player and coach. Saban played for Indiana University in college and as a pro for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference...

 became the first coach of the New England Patriots in 1960, although he was fired part way through their second season. In terms of tenure, Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick

William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...

, the current coach, has led the team for more regular season games (176), post-season games (19) and more complete seasons (eleven) than any other head coach. He has also led the team to four of their Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 appearances, winning three of them. Mike Holovak

Mike Holovak

Michael Joseph Holovak was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was named an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was selected in the first round of the 1943 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams...

, Raymond Berry

Raymond Berry

Raymond Emmett Berry is a former football wide receiver. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their two NFL championship wins. He later had a career in coaching, highlighted by his trip to Super Bowl XX as head coach of the New England Patriots...

, and Bill Parcells

Bill Parcells

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...

 all led the Patriots to league championship games, though all three lost. Five Patriots head coaches, Holovak, Chuck Fairbanks

Chuck Fairbanks

Chuck Fairbanks is a former American football coach, a head coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. The offensive and defensive systems he introduced and helped develop have proven influential in the NFL....

, Berry, Parcells, and Belichick, have been named coach of the year by at least one major news organization. Additionally, Raymond Berry is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

, having been inducted in 1973, eleven years before he became the Patriots' head coach.

Twice in Patriots history there were "interim" head coaches. In 1972, John Mazur resigned with five games left in the season. Phil Bengston was named as the interim head coach for the rest of the season, during which he only won one game, and he was not made the permanent coach the next year. In 1978, head coach Fairbanks secretly made a deal to leave the team to coach the University of Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado Buffaloes football

The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...

 while he was still coaching Patriots. Team owner Billy Sullivan

Billy Sullivan (American football)

William Hallissey "Billy" Sullivan, Jr. was an American businessman who owned the Boston Patriots franchise from their inception in the American Football League until their sale, as the New England Patriots of the NFL, to Victor Kiam in 1988.-Early life:Sullivan was born in Lowell, Massachusetts...

 suspended Fairbanks for the final game of the regular season, stating "You cannot serve two masters," and Ron Erhardt

Ron Erhardt

Ron Erhardt is a former football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, and from 1979-1981 served as head coach of the National Football League's New England Patriots.-College assistant and high school head coach:...

 and Hank Bullough

Hank Bullough

Henry Charles "Hank" Bullough is a former American Football player and coach. He played college football at Michigan State and graduated in 1954. Bullough was a starting guard for the Spartans team that won the 1952 Rose Bowl...

 took co-head coaching responsibilities for that game. Fairbanks was reinstated when the team qualified for the playoffs, and he lost the first playoff game, his last for the Patriots.

Key

#	Number of coaches
GC	Games coached
W	Wins
L	Losses
T	Ties
Win%	Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
*	Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
†	Spent entire professional head coaching career with the Patriots

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2010 NFL season

2010 NFL season

The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...

.

#	Name	Term	Regular season					Playoffs			Awards	Reference
			GC	W	L	T	Win%	GC	W	L
"color:#ffffff">Boston Patriots
1	Lou Saban Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban was an American football player and coach. Saban played for Indiana University in college and as a pro for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference...	1960 1960 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the inaugural American Football League's 1960 season with a record of five wins and nine losses, and thus were last place in the AFL's Eastern Division... –1961 1961 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1961 season with a record of nine wins and four losses and one tie, and placed second in the AFL's Eastern division.-Staff:-Season summary:...	19	7	12	0	.368	–	–	–
2	Mike Holovak Mike Holovak Michael Joseph Holovak was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was named an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was selected in the first round of the 1943 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams...	1961 1961 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1961 season with a record of nine wins and four losses and one tie, and placed second in the AFL's Eastern division.-Staff:-Season summary:... –1968 1968 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1968 season with a record of four wins and ten losses, and finished fourth in the AFL's Eastern Division...	107	52	46	9	.528	2	1	1	UPI AFL Coach of the Year (1966)
3	Clive Rush Clive Rush Clive Rush was a football coach at both the professional and collegiate levels, but may be best remembered as head coach of the Boston Patriots during the 1969 American Football League season and the 1970 NFL season....	1969 1969 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1969 season with a record of four wins and ten losses, and finished tied for third in the AFL's Eastern division.-Staff:-Season standings: -Game-by-game results:-Roster:... –1970 1970 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the National Football League's 1970 season with a record of two wins and twelve losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...	21	5	16	0	.238	–	–	–
"color:#ffffff">New England Patriots
4	John Mazur John Mazur John Edward Mazur is a former football player and coach who was a quarterback for the University of Notre Dame and also served as head coach for the New England Patriots from 1970 to 1972....	1970 1970 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the National Football League's 1970 season with a record of two wins and twelve losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... –1972 1972 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1972 season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...	34	9	21	0	.300	–	–	–
5	Phil Bengtson Phil Bengtson John Phillip Bengtson was a college football player and longtime assistant coach on the collegiate and NFL levels, chiefly remembered as the successor to Vince Lombardi as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1968....	1972 1972 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1972 season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...	5	1	4	0	.200	–	–	–
6	Chuck Fairbanks Chuck Fairbanks Chuck Fairbanks is a former American football coach, a head coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. The offensive and defensive systems he introduced and helped develop have proven influential in the NFL....	1973 1973 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1973 season with a record of five wins and nine losses, and finished third in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... –1978 1978 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1978 season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished tied for first in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Regular season:...	85	46	39	0	.541	2	0	2	UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1976) Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1976)
7	Ron Erhardt Ron Erhardt Ron Erhardt is a former football coach at both the collegiate and professional levels, and from 1979-1981 served as head coach of the National Football League's New England Patriots.-College assistant and high school head coach:...	1979 1979 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1979 season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... –1981 1981 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1981 season with a record of two wins and fourteen losses, and finished tied for last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...	49	21	28	0	.428	–	–	–
8	Ron Meyer Ron Meyer -References:...	1982 1982 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's strike-shortened 1982 season with a record of five wins and four losses, and finished seventh in the American Football Conference.... –1984 1984 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1984 season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:...	33	18	15	0	.545	1	0	1
9	Raymond Berry Raymond Berry Raymond Emmett Berry is a former football wide receiver. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their two NFL championship wins. He later had a career in coaching, highlighted by his trip to Super Bowl XX as head coach of the New England Patriots... *	1984 1984 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1984 season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... –1989 1989 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1989 season with a record of five wins and eleven losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:-Roster:...	87	48	39	0	.551	5	3	2	UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1985) AFC Championship (1985)
10	Rod Rust Rod Rust Rodney A. Rust is a former American football player and coach. He is best known in the United States as the coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League during the 1990 season, which ended with a 1–15 record....	1990 1990 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1990 season with a record of one win and fifteen losses, and finished last in the AFC East division...	16	1	15	0	.062	–	–	–
11	Dick MacPherson Dick MacPherson Richard F. MacPherson is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1971 to 1977 and at Syracuse University from 1981 to 1990, compiling a career college football record of 111–73–5...	1991 1991 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1991 season with a record of six wins and ten losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:-Roster:... –1992 1992 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1992 season with a record of two wins and fourteen losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:-Roster:...	32	8	24	0	.250	–	–	–
12	Bill Parcells Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...	1993 1993 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1993 season with a record of five wins and eleven losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division.-Season summary:Amid year-long rumors that the team would move to St... –1996 1996 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots participated in the National Football League's 1996 season, the team's 37th in football. The Patriots finished with a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished first in the AFC East division...	64	32	32	0	.500	4	2	2	AP NFL Coach of the Year (1994) Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1994) Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year (1994) UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1994) AFC Championship (1996)
13	Pete Carroll Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...	1997 1997 New England Patriots season The 1997 New England Patriots season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League and 38th season overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.... –1999 1999 New England Patriots season The 1999 New England Patriots season was the 30th season for the team in the National Football League and 40th season overall. They finished with a 8–8 record, tied for fourth place in the division, and out of the playoffs....	48	27	21	0	.562	3	1	2
14	Bill Belichick Bill Belichick William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...	2000 2000 New England Patriots season The 2000 New England Patriots season was the 31st season for the team in the National Football League and 41st season overall. They finished with a 5–11 record and in last place in the division.... –Present	176	126	50	0	.716	19	14	5	AP NFL Coach of the Year (2003, 2007, 2010) Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (2003) Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (2003) Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year (2007) 3 Super Bowl Championships (2001, 2003, 2004) 4 AFC Championships (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007)