New England Patriots: Why Bill Belichick Is the Best Head Coach in the NFL

The New England Patriots consistently enter every NFL season as a favorite to reach the Super Bowl. While that may be due in part to the quarterbacking skills of Tom Brady, it's also due to the reputation the franchise has built under head coach Bill Belichick.

That reputation has made Belichick one of the most copied head coaches currently in the league. Even Rex Ryan, his biggest (no pun intended) nemesis would say so.

"

"If I'm going to steal, I generally steal from the best...and I've stolen from him in the past, so I respect him in that way...[He's] the best in the business...He prepares great...It seems like you never out-prepare him or outwork him or whatever.

He's always got some wrinkles for you. Just a great coach, a great competitor; he's seen it all."

"

Almost none of that is really news (except maybe Rex stealing from Belichick) but to hear it come from one of Belichick's greatest adversaries says a lot about the respect many coaches have for him.

People remember that he has led his team to three consecutive playoff losses, but in his career, he has also earned three AP Head Coach of the Year awards—2003, 2007 and 2010.

A 14-win season in rebuilding year. One of the few HCs who has earned the trust of his owner to make any and all personnel decisions on the team.

People will knock on the third down defense, which was the worst in the league last year, allowing a 47 percent conversion rate. He has implemented systems that are proven to win football games.

Tom Brady's biggest detractors will point out that Matt Cassel succeeded in the Patriots system in 2008, thus dubbing Brady a system quarterback.

Credit should go to Belichick for installing a system that even a quarterback who hasn't started a game since high school can step in and succeed in.

It goes beyond his system, though. He preaches the type of professionalism that most organizations can only dream of attaining.

The fact that his players follow his hum-drum ho-hum mum press conference mentality may drive media members insane, but it's that mentality that allows the team to maintain that one-game-at-a-time mind set that allows them to stay focused and mute the distractions.

That one-game-at-a-time mentality has allowed the team to win 126 of their 176 regular season games under Belichick and has allowed them to go 14-5 in the playoffs in his tenure.

There's another particular saying that has helped Belichick attain his status.

"Stats are for losers. The final score is for winners."

Belichick has embraced that slogan, never worrying about whether a particular player is getting a certain number of carries, receptions or plays. He doesn't care what your name is, he will only do what puts his team in the best position to win football games.

What's more important than all of that? How about three Super Bowl wins, the most of any active head coach and tied for the most all-time.

Some are quick to point out that most of the personnel from the Super Bowl winning teams was acquired during the Bill Parcells years, but Pete Carroll ran that same team deeper and deeper into a hole, as the Patriots lost more games with each of Carroll's years at the helm.

From that, it's clear that it wasn't just the personnel. Coaching played a big factor in the success from the Super Bowl wins.

Haters will hate, but at the end of the day, they can put that in their proverbial pipe and smoke it.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz