The field is deep.

There are no fewer than six worthy candidates to take home the NFL's coach of the year honor. Ron Rivera guided Carolina from a 1-3 start amid rumors about his job security to 11 wins in the Panthers' final 12 games to capture the NFC South and a first-round playoff bye. In his first year in Kansas City, Andy Reid turned the Chiefs from a two-win team a year ago to an 11-win playoff team with a new quarterback.

Like Reid did in Kansas City, Chip Kelly changed the culture in Philadelphia. Kelly instituted a new offense, switched quarterbacks midseason, got players he largely inherited to buy into his training techniques and won the NFC East.

It shouldn't be held against Belichick that Tom Brady is his quarterback. AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Pete Carroll has Seattle humming. Bruce Arians had Arizona within a whisker of the playoffs.

Yet when I turn in my awards ballot to the Associated Press on Thursday, my vote for coach of the year will go to New England's Bill Belichick. No one has done more with less.

Let's get this out of the way first. Yes, Belichick has Tom Brady. Yes, Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Brady makes everyone around him better. He understands the system. He knows what to do.

But Belichick is the one who found Brady. He's the one who drafted Brady. He's the one who decided to carry four quarterbacks Brady's rookie year instead of putting Brady on the practice squad, where he could have been pilfered by another team. Belichick is the one who developed Brady, who mentored him, who believed in him. Belichick is the one who had the vision to believe that Brady could be great.

So just because the Patriots have a future Hall of Famer running the offense should not detract from the job Belichick has done this season or any season. He has had 11 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins -- including the year Brady blew out his knee in the season opener. Belichick is smart. He is smarter than everyone else. It is simply a fact.

Belichick is gruff and distrusting and rates having to talk to the media right up there with getting a colonoscopy. He's not warm and fuzzy. He declined Tuesday to discuss whether the Patriots had given offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels permission to speak with Cleveland about the Browns' head-coaching vacancy, but he rambled on and on about the value of the Patriots' special teams. The vice on punt returns? Who cares about that?