Evaluating Belichick's coach-of-the-year's chances

Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 -- the biggest penalty ever for an NFL coach -- for his role in Spygate John Iacono/SI

During a radio interview Tuesday morning, someone asked me if the debate about New England's Spygate episode was over now that the Patriots and Jets have had their much-anticipated but largely anti-climatic Week 15 rematch?

Not quite. Spygate may not be a front-burner issue any more, but I don't think it's ready to fade into obscurity. Not as long as the Patriots' quest for a perfect season lives on, and not with the debate over Bill Belichick's NFL Coach of the Year candidacy just starting to percolate.

The question is this: Should New England's Belichick be honored with the coach of the year award in a season in which his team was caught violating NFL rules and was punished heavily by the league commissioner? Does his situation mirror the Shawne Merriman debate of last year, when the San Diego outside linebacker had his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy challenged by some because of the four-game league suspension he served for steroid use?

Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, the most outspoken anti-Merriman voice last year, wound up winning the DPOY award handily. But in response to the out-cry over Merriman, the NFL changed its policies and barred any player from making a Pro Bowl appearance in the same season in which he served a league suspension.

The NFL Coach of the Year honor is a bit different in that it's awarded by the Associated Press, which has 50 media members who cover the league cast a ballot the day after the regular season concludes. I'm one of the voters, and early this week, I gathered a sampling of opinion from a half-dozen of my fellow voters on the Belichick issue. Not surprisingly, the responses covered both ends of the spectrum, which reflects just how polarizing this topic, and Belichick himself, has become. To wit:

"If he goes 16-0, I don't see how you don't give it to Belichick,'' said Rick Gosselin, the longtime NFL writer for the Dallas Morning News, and one of the most respected voices in our field. "I think it's a slam dunk. If they go 16-0, the bottom line is he's done something that no one in the history of football has ever done. How do you deny him, and how do you deny that?

"This is not like he's going 12-4. I don't think there's anything to grapple with. I don't understand the issue. Now, if he was caught doing something illegal in Week 16, you'd have a debate. But that is a great football team, regardless of whether they were taping in the first half of the opener at the Jets. And that is a great coach.''

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