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Are Belichick and Brady the best ever?

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books as the fourth championship for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

I've always thought Vince Lombardi was the greatest NFL coach, and that Joe Montana was the greatest quarterback ever.

Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers to five National Football League championships in seven years (three straight titles in that stretch). Two of those wins came in the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and 1967 seasons.

With free agency not an option then, Lombardi could count on that same roster every year. Belichick, on the other hand, has been to six Super Bowls with a different roster for every appearance.

It's still pretty tough, but I have to give the nod to Belichick - even over the coach who the Super Bowl trophy is named after, because the challenge of winning multiple times in the NFL seems much more difficult now than it did back in Lombardi's era.

Where does Brady stand in the quarterback debate?

No one can argue that Joe Montana, with his 4-0 record in the Super Bowl, isn't the cream of the crop, but he did have talented teammates such as Dwight Clark, Roger Craig and the greatest receiver ever, Jerry Rice. Montana was lucky enough to play with the same guys, giving him an edge there. Still, it's important to remember that Montana, at age 37, also took the Kansas City Chiefs to their first AFC championship game, which was no small task.

Brady has won with different rosters and gone to a total of six Super Bowls. Belichick and Brady's legacy is forever etched in stone, and they might both just be the best ever in their professions.

I believe the Seattle Seahawks under Pete Carroll and led by Russell Wilson will definitely be back, and it's hard to believe one bad play call ruined their chances at two consecutive Super Bowls. Seattle will return, but so will New England with the very dominant duo of Belichick and Brady.

Tiger sinks to 50th:

I watched Tiger Woods fail to make the cut on Friday at the Phoenix Open after shooting a dismal 82.

Hall of Fame golfer and broadcaster Dottie Pepper stated bluntly that Tiger had the yips, which in golf terms means he was a bundle of nerves. I never believed he would break Jack Nicklaus' record of winning 18 majors championships, but I also never thought his play would sink this low. No one did.

Most of the media still won't face the fact that Woods is not the same Tiger anymore. He has dropped out of the top 50 golfers, and I don't know if any superstar athlete has fallen further than Tiger.

What does he need to do to bounce back? I am not sure, but I did miss watching him last weekend.

Program notes:

Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.

• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

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