(Reuters) – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, one of the most successful coaches in National Football League history, will leave the team after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles, he said yesterday.
Belichick, 71, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft met several times this week, ESPN reported, after the team finished the season with a dismal 4-13 record, the worst in Belichick’s 29-year head coaching career.
With six Super Bowl titles in 24 seasons with the Patriots, Belichick is regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all-time, leading the most decorated NFL dynasty in league history.
Speculation has mounted since November, however, that the New England team was ready for a coaching change as they grappled with their third losing season in four years since quarterback Tom Brady left to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Appointed head coach in 2000, he led the Patriots to a 266-121 record, 17 AFC East titles — including a league-record streak of 11 in a row from 2009 — and the team’s nine Super Bowl appearances is tied for most by an NFL franchise. Their last Super Bowl victory was in 2018.
Belichick has more Super Bowl appearances as head coach than any team has made in NFL history, except the Patriots (with 11), and his 17 division titles are the most by a head coach with a single club.
Belichick’s departure comes a day after Nick Saban retired after 17 seasons as head coach at Alabama and longtime Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll moved to an advisory position.
