It was announced that legendary coach Bill Belichick is leaving the New England Patriots after 24 years, saying that his achievement “exceeded his wildest dreams”.
Following yet another dismal season in which the Patriots finished last in the AFC East for the first time since 2000, Belichick has decided to step down.
However, from 2001 to 2018, Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady helped the team win a record six Super Bowls. The 71-year-old declared,
“This is a day of celebration and gratitude for me.” Belichick continued, saying,
“We had a vision of building a winner, a championship football team, here and it exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations.
” The Patriots finished second three times during his tenure.For the rest of my life, I will always cherish those wonderful memories.
” Belichick set a record with six Super Bowl victories as a head coach. His exit was made official following talks with Robert Kraft, the team’s owner.
“The man standing to my left brought the leadership and coaching skills that were needed to make this unprecedented success possible,
” Kraft stated at a brief press conference. “He is the greatest coach of all time, which makes this decision to part ways so hard.
“We both felt that this was the necessary action to take at this time. There will never be another like what Bill accomplished with us.
” Belichick’s Patriots have just once advanced to the postseason since Brady left in 2020, despite their prior success. They were defeated by the New York Jets on Sunday to conclude the most recent regular season.
In his 26-year head coaching career, Belichick has suffered the most losses in a season—13 this season.
Having supposedly inked a multi-year contract at the beginning of the 2023 season, he stated on Sunday that it was “way too early” to make decisions about his future.
For the past four seasons, Belichick’s Patriots have finished with losing records in three of them. This season, the squad experienced consecutive losing campaigns for the first time since 1993.
More than any other NFL team, they participated in nine Super Bowls during their heyday, which was led by Brady and Belichick.
In addition, they appeared in 13 AFC championship games, won 17 division titles, and had the only perfect 16-game regular season in 2007.
Ben Collins, a British football writer, analysis.There was constant discussion during the Patriots’ heyday on who was more responsible for their success:
Brady or Belichick. Brady was written off by some as a “system quarterback,” but the fact that he won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an underdog team, in his first season away from New England implies he is deserving of more credit than he received.
Meanwhile, Belichick hasn’t been able to take his place. Although the quality of the Patriots squad has steadily decreased since Brady’s departure, Cam Newton only lasted one season, and draft picks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe have fallen short of the high expectations he set.
