Members of the 1986 New York Giants gathered Saturday night for a dinner celebrating the 40th anniversary of the franchise's first Super Bowl win. The gathering included Bill Belichick, who arrived in New Jersey shortly after North Carolina's loss to Notre Dame. Belichick's evening included a picture with former Giants defenders Lawrence Taylor and Leonard Marshall.
Belichick departed after the dinner and was not part of Sunday's halftime celebration honoring the '86 Giants. Now in his second season at North Carolina, Belichick made a name for himself with the Giants as the team's defensive coordinator from 1985-90. Over that span, the Giants won the franchise's first two Super Bowls largely on the strength of their defense.
Belichick was carried off the field after the Giants blanked Washington in the 1986 NFC title game. In that year's Super Bowl, the Giants' defense recorded a massive goal-line stand that helped New York record a 39-20 win over John Elway's Broncos. In the 1990 NFC title game, Belichick's defense held the mighty 49ers offense to just 13 points, depriving San Francisco of a shot at becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls.
Against Buffalo in that year's Super Bowl, Belichick crafted a game plan that focused on shutting down the Bills' explosive offense. While Thurman Thomas ran for 135 yards, Belichick's defense allowed just 19 points as the Giants' offense controlled the ball for a Super Bowl record 40 minutes and 33 seconds. The Giants' 20-19 win remains the only Super Bowl decided by a single point.
Belichick, who later led the Patriots to a record six Super Bowl titles, enjoyed a successful partnership with then-Giants coach Bill Parcells, who in 1996 became the second coach to lead multiple franchises to Super Bowl appearances. Parcells was not feeling well and did not take part in the Giants' weekend festivities. Parcells, 85, recently gave an interview discussing the '86 Giants, in which he described his appreciation for Phil Simms, who won Super Bowl MVP that year after completing a record 88% of his passes against the Broncos.
"I loved having him as my quarterback" -Bill Parcells on Phil SimmsPapa's Perspective 🎙: https://t.co/s2G4d6ADac pic.twitter.com/kA6AS6DHCA While Parcells was absent, many other members of the Giants took part in the celebration. The Super Bowl 21 @Giants back together to kick off the 40th anniversary weekend. An incredible night of storytelling @Starter pic.twitter.com/rQH30rdVhp '86 Legends in the house 🐐 pic.twitter.com/ercPzBSPGx The '86 Giants became the franchise's first championship team in 30 years.
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