The Coach of the Year Award went to the correct person. Did other coaches have great seasons? Yes, Dick Jauron comes to mind, and Tony Dungy probably had his best coaching year ever.

Although it's nice to give credit to coaches who have dealt with a lot of adversity this past season, the obvious choice shouldn't be overlooked. No one expected Dick Jauron's team to do anything, yet they found ways to win. Dungy's Colts also had to deal with injuries to key players, especially Marvin Harrison.

But as teams which have come tantalizingly close to a perfect 16-0 season know, the pressure of trying to go undefeated is an entirely different animal. And now there's even more pressure from everyone who says that anything less than a 19-0 season from the Patriots is failure.

That's pressure, and Bill Belichick has dealt well with it. If we're going to give awards to people who exceed moderate expectations, then we definitely need to reward coaches who meet lofty expectations.