FOXBOROUGH — Bill Belichick a Steelers employee?
Well, that’s not happening, but the Patriots coach is familiar enough with Sunday’s opponent that he believes he could step right in and get at least one job done in the Pittsburgh organization.
Belichick gushed Wednesday morning about the respect he has for the Steelers and said the key to their success boils down to one word: continuity.
“I mean, they’ve had three coaches since the late ’60s,’’ said Belichick. “Coach [Bill] Cowher, Coach [Mike] Tomlin, that goes like what — 25 years? Two coaches, two general managers.
“They have a lot continuity, and when you have continuity like they have in the organization — they haven’t really changed defenses much over that same quarter of a century — so as a scout, I mean, I could scout for the Steelers.
“I’ve seen them. They do the same thing. They stay with it, so you know what kind of players they’re looking for at each position.’’
It’s basically following the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’’ philosophy. But just because the Steelers stay the course doesn’t mean they’re stubborn or simplistic.
“They have a very extensive scheme through their continuity, so they do quite a bit in terms of the volume of their plays that you have to defend, but they can do them over and over again because they have a lot of the same guys doing them,’’ said Belichick, who owns a 10-9 record against the Steelers, including 8-3 with the Patriots. “Offensively, it’s really all of the same guys here for the last couple of years.’’
The Steelers’ stability in many ways mirrors that of the Patriots, who have had the same decision-makers in place for the last 16 years. It’s why the franchises are perennial Super Bowl contenders.
Since 1994, the Patriots and Steelers rank 1-2 in conference championships (7, 4), division championships (15, 11), and playoff victories (25, 18). New England has four Super Bowl titles in that span and Pittsburgh has a pair.
The Patriots-Steelers rivalry has heated up over the last 15 years, with the teams playing 11 times, and New England winning eight, including a pair of AFC Championship games — both at Heinz Field.
Though the Steelers still hold the lead in the overall series, 15-13, the Patriots have dominated the rivalry of late. Over the first 14 times the franchises met, Pittsburgh won 11 — including six straight from 1989-97.
Though they’re not division games, they’re always high-stakes affairs. There’s always a heightened sense of urgency when these teams square off because postseason seeding — or playoff survival — is almost always on the line.
“They’ve been one of the best for a long time,’’ said Tom Brady, who has enjoyed tremendous success against Pittsburgh, posting an 8-2 record, 2-0 in the postseason. “The history of the Steeler organization with so many great players and teams and championships, you know you’re always going to get a dogfight when you play them.
“I have a lot of respect for them. They play the game the right way.’’
Some of the sizzle has been taken out of Sunday’s game with the news that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss the game with a knee injury. Though privately many of the Patriots may be happy to be dodging Big Ben, publicly they say they never want to see a player miss a game because of injury — friend or foe.
“You always want to go against the best players,’’ said Brady. “He’s one of the reasons they’ve been such a great team. We’ve had so many memorable games against that team, some really important moments, and it seems like he’s been a part of those. It’s tough to see any injury for any player.’’
Tomlin, who has a 96-54 record in 10 seasons with the Steelers, appreciates the history of the rivalry and is looking forward to the next chapter.
“Man, it’s awesome,’’ he said. “It’s good for the game, good for football. It’s good for sport.’’
It’s clear there’s no place Belichick would rather be than patrolling the sideline at Heinz Field this Sunday afternoon.
“It’s the kind of football game you want to play, you want to coach in,’’ said Belichick.
No matter which side you’re employed by.
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.
