One of the most successful coaches in American pro sports history is parting ways with the team he led to a half-dozen championships. Bill Belichick said during a news conference today that he is leaving the New England Patriots after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl wins in nine appearances.
“It’s with so many fond memories and thoughts that I think about the Patriots, and I’ll always be a Patriot,” he said at the presser. “I look forward to coming back here, but at this time, we’re gonna move on. And I’m excited for the future.”
ESPN reported that a deal with team owner Robert Kraft allowed Belichick to exit with a year remaining on his contract. Coming off a 4-13 season, its second consecutive losing record, the franchise now begins its first hunt for a head coach since the Clinton administration.
Belichick, 71, is a shoo-in future Hall of Famer who led the Patriots since 2000. After going 5-11 in his first season, the club changed quarterbacks to a sixth-round draft pick and second-year pro named Tom Brady and won the AFC East with an 11-5 record en route to the first franchise’s first NFL title. It was the start of one of the most successful coach-player teamings ever.
Before leading the Patriots, Belichick was head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991-95, compiling a 36-44 record there, and had been coaching in the NFL since 1975. He first joined New England as an assistant in 1996 before taking a job with the rival New York Jets, where he spent three seasons from 1997-99. After relocating to Foxboro, MA, he was named AP NFL Coach of the Year three times and made the NFL’s All-Decade Team in the 2000s and 2010s.
With a record of 266-121, he is by far the Patriots’ all-time wins leader; adding his Browns years, Belichick is the third-winningest coach in NFL history with 302 victories, behind only Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318). His six Super Bowl titles are the most of any NFL coach, with his most recent coming after the 2018 season, and the most playoffs wins with 31.
Famously acerbic and aloof with the media, Belichick had his share of controversy while leading the Patriots for nearly a quarter-century — from the “tuck rule” play in the AFC Championship Game that sent the team to the 2002 Super Bowl to the 2007 “spygate” signal-stealing scandal and the “deflategate” AFC title game in 2014, when opposing players alleged that one of the footballs Brady used was underinflated. That led to a Saturday Night Live sketch that roasted the coach, player and team.
Off the field, Belichick appeared in this year’s Netflix docuseries Quarterback and in numerous other documentaries. He also guested on late-night talk shows with David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon and was the subject of a 2004 60 Minutes segment. He also appeared in a 2006 episode of FX’s Denis Leary dramedy Rescue Me and won has been nominated for Sports Emmys as an analyst on NFL-related shows.