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| FEATURES |
Super Bills
By Dean Christopher
Date: 01-02-2006 |
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| Thanks to the likes of Belichick and Parcells, a coach named Bill has won nine out of the past 24 Super Bowls. |
What's in a name? Just ask Bill. From 1961 to 1978, five men named Bill coached 17 seasons for six NFL franchises. During that time, Bills Johnson, Peterson, Arnsparger, Austin and McPeak brought shame to their coaching name, amassing a combined record of 64-143-6, or an embarrassing 33 percent winning clip. To make matters worse, no team coached by a Bill made the playoffs, and only two of those teams had winning records. Then it happened.
In 1978, Cincinnati fired Bill Johnson after the Bengals began the year 0-5. That off-season in 1979, Eddie DeBartolo hired Stanford coach Bill Walsh to take over his struggling 49er franchise. In less than a year, the luck of the Bills had changed, seemingly forever.
Since 1979, every head coach named Bill has reached the Super Bowl. The Super Bills include Walsh, Parcells, Cowher, Billick, Belichick and Callahan. Over the past 27 seasons, this elite coaching conglomerate has run up staggering regular and postseason records of 572-408-3, a 58 percent winning clip, and 45-24, a 65 percent winning clip, respectively. And that's not even the good part.
A rundown of their Super Bowl performances follows in order of historical billing, naturally:
Bill Walsh
XXIII/1989 (W) 49ers 20, Bengals 16
XIX/1985 (W) 49ers 39, Miami 16
XVI/1982 (W) 49ers 26, Bengals 21
Bill Parcells
*XXXI/1997 (L) Packers 35, Patriots 21
~XXV/1991 (W) Giants 20, Bills 19
XXI/1987 (W) Giants 39, Broncos 20
Bill Cowher
XXX/1996 (L) Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
Brian Billick
XXV/2001 (W) Ravens 38, Giants 7
Bill Belichick
XXXIX/2005 (W) Patriots 23, Eagles 20
XXXVIII/2004 (W) Patriots 32, Panthers 29
*XXXVI/2002 (W) Patriots 20, Rams 17
Bill Callahan
XXXVII/2003 (L) Bucs 48, Raiders 21
Buffalo Bills
XXVIII/1994 (L) Cowboys 30, Bills 13
XXVII/1993 (L) Cowboys 52, Bills 17
XXVI/1992 (L) Redskins 37, Bills 24
~XXV/1991 (L) Giants 20, Bills 19
*Denotes Bill vs. Mike match-up.
~Denotes Bill vs. Bills confrontation.
An even closer look reveals that since Super Bowl XVI in 1982, the Super Bills have coached in 12 Super Bowls, good for a 50 percent appearance rate. Amazingly, they have won nine of those appearances, or 75 percent of the time. Even more amazingly, a coach named Bill has won the Super Bowl nearly twice in every five years, or 38 percent of the time, over the past two decades and change.
Who could forget how the Bills of Buffalo reached four consecutive Super Bowls in the early '90s? Bills have appeared prominently in the Super Bowl as either a team or a head coach in 15 of the past 24 NFL seasons, good for a 63% appearance rate.
And there is some overlap. Bill Parcells, with the aide of defensive guru Bill Belichick, miraculously bested his pluralist opposition in Super Bowl XXV. Many traumatized Buffalo fans blame Parcells himself as the root of the Bills' demise.
These eerie "coincidences" would even make the Super Bills themselves raise an eyebrow. Somehow though, it gets even weirder. Over the same 24-year period, Mikes Ditka, Holmgren, Shanahan and Martz have appeared in a not too shabby six Super Bowls, with four wins to speak of.
Adding to the confusion, Mike Holmgren's Pack beat Bill Parcells' Pats in Super Bowl XXXI. The Mikes held the early lead in the head-to-head series, but the Bills were not to be denied. Five years later in Super Bowl XXXVI, Bill Belichick's Patriots avenged their coach's name by battering Mike Martz's Rams.
But the mind-boggling doesn't stop there. While Mike Shanahan faced off against Mike Holmgren in Super Bowl XXXII, a Super Bill has never faced a member of his coaching fraternity in the season finale. Bill Parcells' Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills, however, must be recognized in a separate, more elusive category.
Indeed, the facts add up to much more than a coincidence. Is it simple chance that last season’s NFC wild card games featured Mike Martz's Rams against Mike Holmgren's Seahawks and Mike Tice's Vikings against Mike Sherman's Packers? And is it dumb luck that after dispatching Bill Cowher's Steelers in the AFC Championship, Bill Belichick's Patriots won it all again in Super Bowl XXXIX? I think not.
A betting man would be hard-pressed to believe these playoffs will be any different. One way or another, the Bills will prevail come Super Bowl Sunday – whether it’s Cowher’s Steelers or Belichick's Patriots.
Perhaps the Super Bowl would be more aptly named the "Super Bill." After all, recent history argues that a Super Bowl bid awaits every man named Bill lucky enough to lead an NFL team. So forget about the Benjamins.
It's all about the Bills. |
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