Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls alongside Tom Brady, is leaving as head coach of the New England Patriots.
The most decorated coach in Patriots history is expected to part ways with the club after 24 seasons. according to ESPN. Belichick was scheduled to meet with team owner Robert Kraft this week to discuss his future.
The move hasn't been made official by the team, but it was expected after the Patriots' disastrous 4-13 season. Patriots spokespeople did not immediately respond to 's request for confirmation.
Belichick's future as a coach, as well as his likely successor in New England, remains unclear at this time.
Interestingly, Belichick's departure comes one day after Pete Carroll's with the Seattle Seahawks and Nick Saban's at Alabama. In fact, Belichick replaced Carroll in New England in 2000 and employed Saban as defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns in the 1990s.
After 24 seasons, Bill Belichick is retiring as head coach of the New England Patriots
Belichick smiles next to Tom Brady after beating the Browns for his 100th win in 2019
Belichick (left in 2012) and Patriots owner Robert Kraft (right) were scheduled to meet this week
Belichick, of course, is the only person to coach the Patriots this millennium.
It was January 2000 when Belichick began his one-day stint as head coach of the Jets, inheriting the job from his mentor Bill Parcells, only to suddenly resign due to the team's shaky ownership just as Woody Johnson was in the process of buying the Jets franchise .
Three months later, as Patriots head coach, Belichick drafted a Michigan quarterback named Tom Brady in the sixth round, inserted him into the starting lineup for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001, and promptly won the first of six Lombardi Trophies.
The 71-year-old Belichick ranks third among NFL coaches with 302 regular-season wins – just 26 behind leader Don Shula, who won just two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins after failing with the Baltimore Colts.
But even without the NFL record for wins, Belichick's resume is unparalleled in the league.
Belichick, a three-time AP Coach of the Year, was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 2000s and 2010s as well as the league's 10th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Including his time as Parcells' defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, Belichick has a record eight Super Bowl rings.
He also holds the most Super Bowl wins (six), Super Bowl appearances (nine), playoff wins (31), playoff appearances (19) and division titles (17) as a head coach.
In fact, in 29 years as a head coach, Belichick has only missed the postseason 10 times: four of his five dismal seasons with the Cleveland Browns and six more times in New England.
Additionally, Belichick missed the playoffs only once with a healthy Brady, who left his longtime coach before the 2020 season to sign with Tampa Bay, where he won his seventh Super Bowl title as a player.
Belichick coached the Jets for one day before resigning in 2000 and joining the Patriots
(Left) Belichick is pictured at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1993, where a fan holds a sign that reads “BILL MUST GO.” (Right) Belichick is seen with mentor Bill Parcells in 1995
And therein lies the debate about Belichick's accomplishments: For all his success as a head coach, Belichick's Super Bowl victories all came with arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game.
“Tom Brady was the only reason you won anyway,” former Jets coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan said of Belichick in November. “I said from the jump they would never win again if that guy trotted into Tampa.”
At the time, Ryan toned down his criticism somewhat.
“Bill Belichick – the greatest in history,” continued Ryan, who was 9-3 against Belichick. “I'll never deny that.” I got my ass kicked by him a million times.
“But if you think for one minute that it wasn’t about Tom Brady, you’re absolutely crazy.”
“Look at his record without Tom,” former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel said in July. “You have to win without Tom.” One thing I learned about being great is that you have to be great in different situations. It was all Tom. I was there. I saw it. It was Tom. Everybody knows.'
Brady, for his part, has publicly remained loyal to Belichick, whom he called “the best coach … in the history of football” in November.
“The thought of him not being in New England is hard for me,” said the 46-year-old retiree.
Former Jets & Bills coach Rex Ryan believes Bill Belichick's success is thanks to Tom Brady
But not even their shared success could keep Brady in Foxborough, where rumors of hostility between the two emerged in 2017.
At the time, ESPN and other media outlets reported that Belichick had banned Brady's personal fitness guru and business partner Alex Guerrero from the sidelines after he clashed with the team's training staff.
Other rumors also surfaced, including one that Belichick was eager to replace the aging Brady with backup Jimmy Garoppolo, only to trade the young quarterback to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2017 season.
The exact truth is difficult to determine, especially given Belichick's notorious reluctance to share details with the press.
But whether this was the case with Brady or not, Belichick has earned a reputation for wearing down those around him.
“This team is playing like it’s exhausted,” Ryan said on ESPN of the current incarnation of the Patriots. “And in the Patriots way, that's it.” It exhausts these kids.
“Because I know how stressful this is for these kids,” Ryan continued. “And that’s what you’re facing right now.”
Parcells (left) and the Giants had one of the best defenses in the NFL under coordinator Belichick
Parcells and Belichick also worked together in New England, reaching Super Bowl XXI in 1997
Of his four-year stint with the Patriots in the early 2010s, linebacker Brandon Spikes wrote on social media: “Four years a slave.”
“It was just pretty tough, one of those deals where you have to take it and put up with it,” former Patriots receiver Wes Welker told Sports Illustrated of Belichick in 2013. “But he does it with everyone, it's his way.”
“It’s certainly not easy,” former Patriots receiver Danny Amendola told ESPN in 2018. “He's an asshole sometimes.” There were a lot of things I didn't like about playing for him, but I have to say the things I didn't like were all about improving the team and I respected him.
“It wasn't easy and he would have been the first to admit it [Super Bowl] Ring ceremony that it wasn't easy for him to play.'
New England Patriots fans hold a sign supporting head coach Bill Belichick in 2014
Some Patriots fans still support Belichick, including this man pictured on December 24th
Belichick's critics are also quick to point to Spygate, the 2007 scandal that left the disgraced head coach $500,000 and lost a first-round draft pick in 2008.
Fittingly, the allegation that the Patriots illegally filmed opponents' sidelines in hopes of deciphering coaches' signals originated in 2008 with the Jets and his former student, then-New York head coach Eric Mangini.
It also helped tarnish Belichick's reputation after allegations that the Patriots allegedly filmed opposing coaches 40 times, something the head coach apparently didn't particularly care about.
“A guy takes signals in front of 80,000 people, okay?” Belichick said in 2015, “So we filmed them taking signals in front of 80,000 people — like a lot of other teams were doing back then.” Forget it. If we were wrong, we were punished for it.
“We never did it again,” he added. “We'll never do it again. We won't do anything else that's nearby either.”
Of course, the Patriots were caught filming an opponent's sideline (Cincinnati's this time) again in 2019, and while the team's intentions and Belichick's involvement are unclear, New England was picked in the third round and fined $1 .1 million US dollars.
Tom Brady is hugged by head coach Bill Belichick after the Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick celebrates his second Super Bowl victory in 2004
Bill Belichick isn't really known for his range of emotions, as you can tell from this banner
Belichick shakes hands with his former student Eric Mangini, who later became Bill's nemesis
But the allegations can't entirely diminish Belichick's track record, which includes countless smart personnel decisions as well as some bold play calls on the sideline.
Most famously, Belichick told his players with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl. Because of this risky move, New England kicker Adam Vinatieri scored the decisive 48-yard field goal at the end of regulation for the first NFL title of the teams.
Belichick can be seen in 1998 when he served as the Jets' defensive coordinator under Parcells
Belichick also has a knack for finding new roles for players, famously moving linebacker Mike Vrabel to tight end in goal-line situations and using wide receiver Troy Brown as a defensive back in New England's injury-plagued secondary in 2004.
And for better or worse, he has earned a reputation as “Boring Bill,” the miserable head coach who is only interested in his team’s next game.
He coined the phrase “On to Cincinnati” in 2014 as a tactic to end uncomfortable questions after a crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Even last week, as the Patriots' dismal season came to an end, Belichick stuck with that mindset.
“I’m looking forward to getting to work and getting ready for the Jets,” Belichick has told reporters repeatedly in recent days.
Among his contemporaries, Belichick will be remembered as one of the greatest football coaches of all time, regardless of whether he needed Brady to win or not.
“He has surpassed the sport just in terms of the way they prepare, their game management, their communication, everything they do and at least what he does,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said last week.
“You were a model of consistency. They obviously produced a lot of really good football players and won a lot of championships. The guy won over 300 games. You have to stay for a while. “He’s a very special football coach, but he’s a good one.”