Bill Belichick, The Super Coach; Just Win: His focus on detail helps New England's Patriots claim another NFL title.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: MICHAEL MINK

If a team truly reflects its coach, then the New England Patriots are a mirror image of Bill Belichick.

Coach and team are prepared, methodical, efficient, heady, calm and have joined the rarified ranks of multiple Super Bowl champions.

Belichick, one of only 12 coaches to win at least two Super Bowls, is a coach who prefers giving credit to his players while instilling the message that there is no magic formula to winning.

"In order to play well, you've got to practice well, you've got to prepare well (and) you've got to work hard in the off-season program," Belichick, 51, said recently in the Chicago Tribune.

For Belichick, preparation is an obsession. An avid watcher of game films, he began studying them as a boy helping his father, an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. As a high school and college football player, and even on his lacrosse team, teammates remember that Belichick's preparation and study of the game stood out.

"I've never seen a coach, or person, more prepared for situations," said Michael Holley, who covers the Patriots for The Boston Globe and is working on a book on the team. "Belichick makes sure he's got everything accounted for. Not only does he know his own team, he spends the bulk of his time breaking down the other team, trying to figure out what they do well. He's also taking into account the weather, the direction of the wind, and the 52nd guy on the roster and how he can help. Belichick makes sure he knows who the officials are going to be for the game. It's unreal how much preparation he puts into the game."