Foxborough, Mass. (WEEI/WGR 550) - The Bill Belichick era in New England has officially come to an end.
During a press conference held Thursday afternoon in Foxborough, the New England Patriots and Belichick formally announced that both sides have parted ways.
"For me, this is a day of gratitude and celebration," said Belichick on Thursday during a press conference at Gillette Stadium. "I’ll start with Robert [Kraft] and his family. So much thanks for the opportunity to be the head coach here for 24 years. It was an amazing opportunity. I received tremendous support. We had a vision of building a winner, building a championship football team here, and it exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations, the amount of success we were able to achieve together."
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter and ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss, Jerod Mayo "projects to be a, if not the, leading candidate for the job."
Widely considered the greatest head coach in football history, Belichick spent 24 seasons with the Patriots, bringing the club to 10 Super Bowls and winning six of them. He was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year three times, and also served as New England’s de facto general manager, having final say on personnel decisions. Belichick was named the PFWA’s Executive of the Year in 2021.
The 72-year-old finishes his tenure in Foxborough with a 226-121 regular season record and a 31-13 postseason record. In total, the head coach has tallied 333 career wins, just 14 shy of Don Shula’s all-time record.
"I’ll always be a Patriot," Belichick added. "I look forward to coming back here, but at this time, we’re gonna move on and I look forward and am excited for the future. Always very appreciative of the opportunity here, the support here, and Robert what you’ve done for me. Thank you."
It was reported this week that former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel is "interested" in returning to New England. With the Titans parting ways with Vrabel on Tuesday, perhaps he could be a candidate for the job.