According to team sources, Bill Belichick has left as coach of the New England Patriots after 24 seasons with the New England Patriots, a massive shakeup between a coach and the franchise that has been synonymous with success for so long.
The move came after New England finished the 2023 season 4-13 record, their worst season since 1992 and the third time in four years that the Patriots have finished with a losing record. ESPN first reported the news.
Owner Robert Kraft and Belichick have met several times since the end of the season. Their meetings were cordial and professional, but they chose different directions.
Belichick can now look for another job. Kraft can bring a new voice that will likely modernize the Patriots and be more open to collaboration. Both Kraft and Belichick will speak at a press conference on Thursday at noon ET.
Belichick is undisputedly one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. He led quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty to six Super Bowl victories and ranked second all-time in wins (including playoffs) among head coaches with his 333, trailing only Don Shula (347). New England posted a winning record in 20 of his 24 seasons with the team.
But in the four years since Brady's departure, the Patriots are 29-38, with one playoff appearance and no postseason wins. New England started the season 2-10, losing five straight at one point and finishing the season averaging just 13.9 points per game, the fewest in the NFL.
Belichick was poached from the New York Jets by Patriots owner Robert Kraft in 2000 and helped build the Patriots into arguably the NFL's greatest dynasty. Along with Brady, he led New England to 19 consecutive winning seasons, 17 division titles, nine AFC championships and six titles (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018). His 31 postseason wins are the most by a head coach in NFL history, with 30 of those coming with the Patriots.
With Brady at quarterback, the Patriots never finished below .500. It's happened three times since he left. They appeared in the playoffs once in the four seasons after Brady, losing 47-17 to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild card round at the end of the 2021 season. They haven't won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII.
That's when things started to fall apart. A decade of draft struggles has caught up with the team as Brady is no longer there to cover up management mistakes. Belichick, known for his abrasive demeanor, was the only head coach in the NFL with full control of his roster and did not have a general manager at his side. This squad has fallen apart in recent years.
Belichick will also be remembered for several run-ins with the league, including the “Spygate” controversy in 2007, which resulted in a fine and voided draft picks, and the “Deflategate” scandal in 2015, which resulted in a suspension for four games led for Brady.
However, no other coach can match Belichick's success. His six Super Bowls are two more than any other head coach, and he won two more as an assistant to Bill Parcells. Belichick leaves the season with an astonishing 266-121 record with the Patriots.
But now the once unthinkable has happened. Belichick's reign at the helm of the Patriots is over. Kraft made it clear before the start of the season that he wanted the Patriots back in the playoffs. Belichick felt like he had built a roster capable of competing for a division title.
Instead, the Patriots finished last in their division for the first time since 2000, Belichick's first season in New England.
The success that followed was unprecedented. But Belichick's actions were one of the main reasons Brady wanted out in 2020. In the following four years, Belichick failed to build a team that could compete in the playoffs. That's why Kraft felt he had seen enough, agreed to part ways with the most successful coach of his generation and sought a fresh start.
What went wrong
The Patriots appeared to be on an upward trajectory at the end of the 2021 season. Quarterback Mac Jones was coming off a successful rookie season and the defense was still showing promise. But with every decision since they were knocked out of the postseason by the Bills in the wild-card round, the Patriots have gotten further and further away from the competition.
Jones' development as a quarterback was stunted in 2022 by Belichick's decision to pair him with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, neither of whom had run NFL offenses. Belichick believed the difficulties of 2022 could be solved with better, more focused coaching, which is why he didn't overhaul a roster that obviously needed help. That led to a disastrous 2023 in which the Patriots played virtually every game with a worse roster than their opponent.
What's next for Belichick?
It seems likely that he will pursue another coaching job, although it would have to be the right situation in which Belichick could have the final say on the roster – a position he desires – while also earning more than $20 million per season deserved. Belichick remains 14 wins shy of Shula's winning record, a mark he would like to surpass.
There aren't many teams with openings willing to pay Belichick and give up all the power in their personnel department. The Atlanta Falcons have been interested in signing Bill Belichick for weeks, according to league sources. Belichick isn't the only candidate they're targeting.
The Commanders, one of the other teams with a head coaching vacancy, are unlikely to sign Belichick, a league source told The Athletic's Ben Standig.
Who could be the next Patriots coach?
All eyes are now on two people – Jerod Mayo, the current linebackers coach, and Mike Vrabel, who was just fired by the Titans after a 54-45 record there over six years.
The Krafts were very impressed that Mayo looked back to his playing days when Belichick drafted Mayo No. 10 in 2008. They intervened when Mayo wanted to interview elsewhere last offseason and gave him a larger contract to ensure he stayed in New England. It was assumed around the league that the Krafts would keep Mayo as coach behind Belichick. So he is one of the two front runners.
GO DEEPER
“He's Bill Belichick 2.0”: Could Jerod Mayo be the next Patriots coach?
The other is Vrabel, who provided stability for the Titans and helped them win two playoff games despite their often subpar quarterback performances. The Krafts remain close with Vrabel, who was in New England earlier this season to be inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame. During the Titans' bye week, he sat next to Kraft at a Patriots game. Owners have long been impressed with Vrabel's ability to run a room, and his record at Tennessee is made all the more impressive considering he started six quarterbacks during his six years there, with Ryan Tannehill being the best.
Those are the two the Krafts are expected to see the longest as they replace Belichick. But here are a few other names (albeit less likely ones) the Patriots could consider: Bill O'Brien, Brian Flores, Josh McDaniels and Patrick Graham.
GO DEEPER
Without Bill Belichick, there are ten potential candidates for the Patriots head coaching job
Required reading
(Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)