Super Bowl 2012: What Win Would Mean for Bill Belichick's Legacy

If red, white, and blue New England Patriots confetti dusts Lucas Oil Stadium at the conclusion of Super Bowl  XLVI, Bill Belichick could easily go down in the history books as the best coach of all time.

But the while the win will elevate Belichick’s stock, it will ultimately fail to settle lingering debates surrounding the legacy of the legendary coach.

A lot is on the line for Belichick tomorrow—that should not be overlooked.

A win puts to rest the existing tension between Belichick and New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin.

Undertones of this rivalry began when Belichick and Coughlin worked together on the Giants under Bill Parcells and culminated in Super Bowl XLII when Coughlin’s Giants ended Belichick’s perfect season.

If Belichick loses tomorrow, he will have lost his last three games against Coughlin, with two of the losses coming in Super Bowls. A New England failure tomorrow keeps the Belichick-Coughlin rivalry ablaze.

But a Belichick win tomorrow settles the score with Coughlin. Super Bowl XLII begins to look a lot more like a fluke, and New England’s coach will not have to wait four years to replay the NFC East in order to exact his revenge on the Giants.

A win in Indianapolis also means that Belichick will tie Chuck Noll for most Super Bowl victories ever by a head coach, setting up the potential for him to surpass Noll’s record in subsequent seasons.

With four rings, some say that Belichick will stand as the greatest head coach in the NFL’s modern era—if he doesn’t already.

But while the win guarantees certain triumphs for the coach and his team, what does a victory at Super Bowl XLVI actually do for Bill Belichick’s legacy?

With three rings, Belichick will already go down among the greats in NFL history. He is already established to that end.

But a victory tomorrow fails to answer the question of whether his success is owed to Tom Brady or vice versa.

In five seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Belichick only produced one winning season and finished his tenure there with a combined 36-44 record.

As head coach of the New England Patriots, Belichick’s only losing season came with Drew Bledsoe at the helm. Although Bledsoe also started the 2001 season, it was Tom Brady who led the Patriots to their Super Bowl victory.

It's easy to question whether Belichick deserves all the credit he has been given and hard not to wonder whether Belichick has been riding the Brady train to championship city.

And it’s impossible to know whether Brady’s offensive genius or Belichick’s defensive prowess transformed the New England Patriots into a dynasty.

Tom Brady broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing record and threw for 39 touchdowns in the 2011 season.

But Belichick coached a motley crew of no-name defenders through a Patriots season plagued by injuries.

And the defense saved New England’s postseason hopes when Sterling Moore’s brilliant play in the end zone broke up a surefire touchdown pass.

The chicken and the egg question of whether Belichick makes Brady great or vice versa will continue for as long as these two are paired together—which could mean we may never know the answer.

Until Belichick can win without Brady, doubters will continue to argue that he owes his success to No. 12.

Other issues surrounding Belichick’s legacy will linger in the wake of a win tomorrow.

Even if Belichick wins Super Bowl XLVI, critics will still say the 2007 Spygate scandal discredits his legacy.

The incident, which gained enough attention to inspire the involvement of U.S. Senator Arlen Spector, revealed that the Patriots had engaged in the practice of filming opponents’ defensive signals since Belichick was instated as New England’s head coach in 2000.

Belichick may win tomorrow. He may rack up 10 more Super Bowl rings. But it is unlikely that winning will silence his critics’ cries that he is a cheater.

In fact, over the remainder of his career, it is unclear whether Belichick can do anything to mitigate the scar Spygate has left on his resume.

The debate over Belichick’s integrity will extend far beyond Super Bowl XLVI.

So, while Belichick enthusiasts would point to ring number four as ultimate proof of Belichick’s unwavering dominance, a victory tomorrow makes no strides toward parting the raincloud of question marks hovering over Bill Belichick’s legacy.