It has been a surreal 24 hours in the football world.
The G.O.A.T. of NFL coaches Bill Belichick is no longer in Foxborough as he and the New England Patriots have mutually agreed to part way after coaching for 24 seasons with the franchise, team sources said, an unprecedented changing of the guard between a coach and organization that were for so many years joined at the hip when it came to winning.
The decision came down after the Patriots wrapped up the 2023 season with an unacceptable 4-13 record, their worst season in 32 years, since 1992, and it was the third time in four seasons the Patriots have ended with a below .500 record. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Mike Reise first reported the news.
Owner Robert Kraft and Belichick met several times on Monday and Wednesday. Their meetings were productive and professional, but they made the tough choice to go in different paths.
Both Belichick and Kraft, as one outside source noted, “took the high road,” which was the only way it should be for an owner-coach duo that will go down in the record books as one of the greatest and most accomplished in NFL history.
Belichick is now a free agent and has his pick of the litter of jobs to choose from. There are seven other head coaching vacancies that need to be filled. It is a new day for the Pats as well. Kraft can bring in new energy, someone who would be willing relate players and to modernize the Patriots and be more open to suggestions and collaboration. Both Kraft and Belichick spoke at a news conference on Thursday.
Embed from Getty ImagesHired away from their arch rival the New York Football Jets by Kraft in 2000, Belichick helped build the Patriots into arguably the NFL’s greatest dynasty. Belichick is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, engineering quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty to six Super Bowl victories and ranking second all-time in wins (including playoffs) among head coaches with his 333, which trails only Don Shula (347). The Patriots captured a winning record in 20 of his 24 seasons at the helm.
From 2001-2019, the Patriots won 17 of 19 AFC East titles including an NFL record 11 division crowns in a row, advanced to the AFC championship game 13 times and won nine, and went on to win six Super Bowls. Belichick 31 postseason wins are the most by a head coach in NFL history, with 30 of those coming with the Patriots.
In an age of parity in the NFL, it was an unbelievable run that we will most likely see again. Then the Brady-Belichick marriage fell apart at the seams.
Whatever the main reason was, the Patriots and Brady split. Brady went on to greener pastures and continued his dominance right away, winning a championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which will forever help continue the fierce barbershop debate of whether Brady or Belichick was more important to the Patriots’ run.
However, in the four years since Brady was forced out the door and exited stage left, the Patriots are 29-38 with one playoff berth, a blowout loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, and no postseason victories. New England began this campaign with a subpar 2-10 record, losers of five consecutive games at one juncture, and finished the season averaging a miniscule 13.9 points per game, tied for the fewest in the NFL.
Although a great coach, Belichick’s career was also full of controversy and questionable behavior and will also be remembered for multiple run-ins with the league, including the “Spygate” incident in 2007 that led to a fine and docked draft picks, as well as the “Deflategate” scandal in 2015 that led to a four-game suspension for Brady that he fought in court and loss.
No other coach, though, can match Belichick’s success. His six Super Bowls are two more than any other head coach, and he won two others as a defensive coordinator with Bill Parcells. Belichick leaves with an astounding 266-121 regular-season record with the Patriots.
But now, the once-unthinkable has happened. Belichick’s reign atop the Patriots is over. Kraft made it crystal clear prior to the kickoff of the season that he wanted the Patriots back in the playoffs. Belichick felt he had constructed a roster capable of competing for a division title.
Instead, the Patriots finished in last place in their division for the first time since 2000, Belichick’s rookie season in New England.
