Every sports media network, including CBS Sports, spends the off-time of the NFL off-season creating content that is more subjective rather than objective. Because teams are not engaged in organized activities, there is very little actual news to cover during this time.
Recently, CBS Sports released their list of the top 20 coaches in NFL history. Their panel of football analysts all voted/ranked coaches throughout League history, putting them in order from first to twentieth.
As many may have expected, the top spot came down to two different head coaches: Bill Belichick and Vince Lombardi.
CBS Sports declares Bill Belichick was a great all-time head coach than Vince Lombardi
When votes were tallied, only two head coaches received nominations as the greatest of all-time. Those two, of course, were Belichick and Lombardi. The former New England Patriots head coach received three votes while the Green Bay Packers legend received two.
As part of their explanation, the panel wrote:
“The only things that cast doubt on Belichick’s status as the greatest coach of all time are his role in Spygate, his lack of success without Brady and the puzzling decision to bench one of his best defenders (Malcolm Butler) during an eventual Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. Spygate is reportedly the reason why he wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.”
Perhaps it is understandable as to why Belichick was declared the greatest NFL head coach of all time. After all, he won six Super Bowls with the Patritos, and eight in all when one considers his years as an assistant.
However, one must also consider the cloud that hangs over the six-time champ due to the scandals that seemed to always follow New England during his tenure. In addition to Spygate, there was “Deflategate” and multiple other issues that caused the rest of the league to look at the Patriots with suspicion.
Meanwhile, Lombardi won five NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowls. Had his life not been cut short by cancer, he may have won even more.
But the absolute most important part of the Packers great’s legacy is what CBS noted here:
“Winning aside, Lombardi’s legacy also includes his anti-discrimination philosophy. Lombardi was one of the first coaches to draft players from historically black colleges and universities, a practice that was later adopted by the Steelers during their dynasty. During his first training camp, Lombardi issued a no-tolerance policy towards racism. The Packers became the first team to refuse to assign hotel rooms to players based on race.”
Indeed, the NFL became a more accepting league because of Lombardi. Not only did he do all the things CBS referenced above, but he also worked with Wisconsin lawmakers to make more fair housing laws for African Americans, as many of his players were not able to buy homes because of racist legislation during that time.
So who is really the greater of the two? It is all subjective, of course. One could argue that, because he won more titles, Belichick is. That being said, the argument could also be made that Lombardi impacted the game positively in more ways than one, including off the field.
It would not be a reach, then, to say that CBS may have gotten this one wrong.
