Bill Belichick believes Kliff Kingsbury should be named NFL Coach of the Year

Belichick and Kingsbury both believe the other is more deserving of the honor this season

As we inch closer to the finish of the 2021 NFL regular season, it appears there are two favorites for the NFL Coach of the Year award: Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and Kliff Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals. Both currently hold the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, which is not something many saw coming this year.

Kingsbury, who actually spent time as a reserve quarterback under Belichick in the early 2000s, believes the NFL legend should win his fourth Coach of the Year award this season -- and maybe every season until he decides to hang up the clipboard.

"They should just name the award Bill Belichick and when he retires, bring that back," Kingsbury said, via the Cardinals' official website. "Until he retires, I don't think anyone else should get that award. He should be that every single year he is coaching."

Belichick was asked about this quote on The Greg Hill Show, and he was flattered. The future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach also said that Kingsbury is deserving of the award this year. 

"That's very nice of Kliff to toss that bouquet. I'll toss it right back. Kliff has done a great job and should be the Coach of the Year," Belichick said, via ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Kingsbury is in his third season with the Cardinals, going 5-10-1 in 2019, 8-8 in 2020 and now sits atop the league at 10-2 entering Monday night's pivotal NFC West game against the Rams. His decision to vouch for Kyler Murray as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft is a big reason Arizona finds itself in its current situation, as the former Oklahoma star is having a career year and is a legitimate MVP candidate. The Cardinals have been built right with a couple of solid draft decisions, a big trade to bring DeAndre Hopkins to town and a few impressive free agency signings.

As for the Patriots, all seemed lost a year ago when Tom Brady left town for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl in his first season away from New England, but the Patriots have now found their new franchise quarterback and are right back in contention. With the backing of a great defense and excellent run game, Mac Jones has shown improvement almost every week, and is close to wrapping up the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. 

Both coaches are deserving of this award, and both know it.