New England Patriots head coach and Annapolis native Bill Belichick will be presented the key to the city from Annapolis mayor, the Honorable Gavin Buckley, at halftime of the Navy-Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse game on Saturday, March 14. Belichick will be the first person to ever receive the key to the city of Annapolis.
“I am humbled and honored to be recognized by Mayor Buckley and the City of Annapolis,” said Belichick. “I would like to thank Admiral Buck and Chet Gladchuk for allowing me to receive the key in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. I loved the years I spent growing up in Annapolis and at the Naval Academy and I always look forward to returning. I am proud to be an Annapolitan!”
“I simply love the fact that the winningest coach in NFL history comes back to Annapolis to watch college lacrosse,” said Mayor Buckley. “There is something about this City that keeps people grounded and I’d like to think that growing up here played a role in the success he has found throughout his life. Welcome back coach!”
“The Academy joins all in applauding Mayor Buckley for extending this wonderful tribute to a favorite son of Annapolis,” said Gladchuk. “Coach Belichick has always embraced the community and Academy family with a sincere and warm appreciation for the lifelong experiences he enjoyed growing up in his hometown. It remains wonderful that the Coach continues to call Annapolis his home and what more fitting tribute than a key to the City being extended by our Mayor.”
Belichick, who has won a record eight Super Bowls (six as the head coach of the New England Patriots and two as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants) and is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Football League, was raised in the city of Annapolis where his father, Steve, was a coach, scout and physical education instructor at the Naval Academy for more than 30 years.
Coach Belichick first gained his love for football at the Naval Academy by breaking down film with his father and learning the game from Navy legends such as 1960 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino and 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach. Belichick graduated from Annapolis High School in 1970, where he played both football and lacrosse.
After graduating from Wesleyan University, Belichick got his first coaching job in 1975 as a $25 per week assistant with the Baltimore and in 1976 he joined the Detroit Lions as their assistant special teams’ coach before adding tight ends and wide receivers to his coaching duties in 1977. He spent the 1978 season with the Denver Broncos, before moving on to the New York Giants where he spent 12 seasons under head coaches Ray Perkins and Bill Parcells. He was the defensive coordinator when the Giants won Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV following the 1986 and 1990 seasons. His defensive game plan for the New York Giants’ 20-19 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV has been placed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After stints as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns (1991-95), assistant head coach and defensive backs coach with the New England Patriots (1996) and assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the New York Jets (1997-99), Belichick was named head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000 and the rest is history.
Under Belichick, the Patriots have a regular-season record of 225-79-0 over 19 seasons and a 30-10 record in the playoffs. Belichick has led the Patriots to 16 division titles, including a current streak of 11-consecutive AFC East titles, and Super Bowl victories in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Coach Belichick returns to Annapolis and the Naval Academy regularly to visit his mother and will always be a favorite son of this great city.
Tickets for the Navy-Johns Hopkins game can be purchased in advance at https://tinyurl.com/wquad9m or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY. Tickets will also be available on the day at the game at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Box Office located in the North End Zone. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students (18 and under).
