The NFL Coach of the Year award is usually mulled and picked before post season play, and at this time I have yet to hear people mentioning Bill Belichick as a coach of the year candidate for 2008. Personally, I think this is a slap in the face to a team that has truly overachieved this season. Why? Well, I'm going to explain why he should be in the nomination hunt, and why those who have been mentioned should not.

Let's start with a team I like to call "Patriots I-95 South" - the New York Jets' head coach Eric Mangini. The Jets are 9-6 heading into the final weekend, and will have to win at home against a QB (Chad Pennington) they released to bring in an aging veteran (Brett Favre) who is responsible for getting them where they are today. Last season the Jets were granted a very tough schedule, and finished 4-12 with wins over the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and sweeping the Miami Dolphins for the year. This season they had a much easier schedule, yet they lost to the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. If the Jets had won those games, they would be atop the AFC East, and not playing for their lives this Sunday.

Jeff Fisher has coached the Tennessee Titans to a 13 -3 season with veteran QB Kerry Collins at the helm, and a great running back tandem in Chris Jackson and LenDale White who have close to 2,000 yards amassed on the ground this season. And, don't forget the injury and other issues to QB Vince Young earlier in the year. The Titans are boasting a better record than the Patriots, but they had a chance at a perfect season, They lost to the Jets, Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans in a game in which Fisher made a bad decision that cost his team the win. In their second matchup with the Texans, the Titans had a chance on fourth and three to kick a field goal for the win from 49 yards, which was well in their kicker's Rob Bironas' range. Fisher decided to go for it with a pass play sealing their fate after it was thrown incomplete.

The Miami Dolphins were my pick to be the most improved team in the AFC earlier this year, and they sure were. But, there are some reasons why Tony Sparano should not be picked (by a slim margin) over Belichick. The Dolphins last year were this year's Detroit Lions, as they were on the verge of going winless. However, they turned it around with a win over the Baltimore Ravens in week 15, the same week rumors were swirling about the Dolphins signing Bill Parcells to a four-year contract to become Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Parcells took over and immediately his impact and decisions were felt. He cleaned house after looking at guys like WRs Wes Welker helping New England get to a Super Bowl and Chris Chambers as a wideout threat to the San Diego Chargers offense and turning their season around and getting nothing for these players. Parcells hired Sparano, a coach who was with him in Dallas, a coach who Parcells will have his say. I'm not going to say Sparano is 100% a Parcells "puppet," but there are a lot of people who feel Parcells is calling a lot more shots than people realize. He  did have a big impact in the off-season and the draft.

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin would be an acceptable candidate to edge out Belichick in the nod for COTY because he kept his team focused after winning the Super Bowl over the Patriots last year. They also endured the loss of defensive stars Michael Strahan to retirement, Osi Umenyiora to IR after a training camp injury, while WR Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg at a nightclub late in the season hurting Eli Manning's passing attack. With all this the Giants are headed into playoffs finishing at 12-4.

Down south, the Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith has taken a team who desperately needed to recover from the Michael Vick mess, and put the dog fighting mess in the rear view mirror. One of the things Atlanta did in the off-season was draft Boston College QB Matt Ryan, and it paid off with the Falcons finishing 11-5. Ryan has thrown for over 3,200 yards, 15 TDs and only nine picks. Ryan could be a pick for Rookie of the Year, and rightfully so. The Falcons were 4-12 last, their coach resigned after the Vick fiasco, and players were fined for showing off Vick jerseys under their game jerseys during a primetime game. So once again you have a team that has benefited from an easy schedule, but Smith could be a coach who could edge out Belichick as COTY.

All of that now brings me to Belichick, who added one more reason as to why he should be named COTY after their shutout over Buffalo this past weekend? The Patriots finished last year a perfect 16-0 despite the "Spygate" scandal, which some would say was a big middle finger to those who launched discredit, and opinions about a team that had been a success since the turn of the decade.

The Patriots had a tough preseason where the main topic of discussion amongst fans, sports radio, and TV broadcasters was the play of QB Matt Cassel, who most had written off prior to cut day since most had thought this team was going to go with either QB Matt Gutierriez or Kevin O'Connell.

The argument to keep either of these two based on preseason performance over Cassel would not have been debated within "the nation," but when it came down to the final cut Cassel remained, and people were immediately worried about Belichick's decision to keep a guy who was absolutely horrible during the preseason.

It was then the talk began with worries about QB Tom Brady going down during the season, and this team hanging its chances on a QB that had almost no playing time at USC while backing up QBs Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. It was week one when karma bit everyone in Patriots Nation firmly on the arse when Kansas City's Bernard Pollard hit Brady below the knee ending his season, and thrusting Cassel into the spotlight.

Most teams losing their Pro Bowl star QB would usually fold and write the season off, some would fight their heart out to finish at .500, but Belichick's team has kept their confidence and play aggression intact. And, they did it not just after losing their star QB, but also after losing other starters as well – RB Laurence Maroney, OLB Adalius Thomas, LBs Shawn Crable, Pierre Woods, SS Rodney Harrison, CB Terrence Wheatley to the IR. In addition, they also lost LBs Tedy Bruschi to a knee injury, LB Gary Guyton and CB Deltha O'Neil to ankle injuries, and DT Richard Seymour to a back injury.

During the season they also had to endure games with injuries to RBs Lamont Jordan, Sammy Morris, OL Matt Light, and DTs Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren. Despite these losses, Belichick was able to keep this team focused, aggressive, and has gotten some good play from role players like RB Ben Jarvus, and Green Ellis, who amassed 275 yards on 74 carries with five TD's.

WR Sam Aiken had eight receptions for 101 yards with some crucial catches that help keep crucial Patriots' drives alive. T Mark LeVoir came in on the offensive line and did a good job with protection.

With his defense depleted, Belichick contacted defensive veterans Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin, who had not played a snap all year, and was able to get them to fly into New England, suit up, practice a couple of days, and still be able to have an impact on game time with a short notice.

Some would say Belichick didn't coach his best year after the close losses to the Colts, and Jets in OT. Some people feel Belichick should have gone for two to seal the win that night since the Pats had momentum with the Jets on their heels, but Belichick is a man of taking many chances in certain situations. If the Pats had gone for two that night, and missed the conversion, the same pundits would have still been grilling his decision regardless.

Belichick also lost several red flag challenges this season, but most of the time his decision to throw the flag comes from the advice of the person in the booth with the responsibility of reviewing the play. After this season, I'm sure the Patriots will be looking to fill that position.

The reality of the Colts loss was the dropped TD pass by WR Jabar Gaffney, and the nail in the coffin was the dead ball 15 yard penalty on TE Dave Thomas, which pushed the Pats out of field goal range and setting up the Colts to win the game allowing K Adam Vinatieri to punch a 52-yarder through the uprights.

Bottom line… Belichick has kept this team focused despite the injuries when any other team would have folded. If you take the starting QB, RB and two defensive starters from any of the teams I've mentioned, or others, like the Chargers and Colts who are headed for the playoffs, those teams would probably have not made it to the post season.

To further boost the reason why Belichick should receive a nod for COTY, just look at his coaching on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. On a fourth down, he kept Cassel on the field, and with the wind at his back, had him kick the ball away to an unsuspecting Bills defense. Then, mother nature took over and rolled the ball towards the end zone where awaiting Patriots downed it deep in Bills' territory.

But, most of all, Belichick stayed with Cassel after a dismal off-season, and kept his team in contention to make the playoffs after a preseason where everyone questioned his decision to keep him. These are the decisions that separate good coaches from great coaches during an NFL season.