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On his final day with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick cracked a joke about a quarterback not named Tom Brady.
“I haven’t seen this many cameras since we’ve signed [Tim] Tebow,” Belichick told reporters on Thursday.
That’s how Belichick began his press conference with owner Robert Kraft as they announced their mutual parting of ways. Belichick, 71, coached the Patriots for 24 years and won six Super Bowls, and he served as general manager in that span.
Brady played a major role in those championships, and Belichick never found the same success after Brady’s departure in 2020. As for Tebow, he was a high-profile backup who had a short-lived stint in 2013 — a blip on the timeline of Belichick’s storied tenure in Foxborough.
“Robert and I after a series of discussions have mutually agreed to part ways,” Belichick said. “For me this is a day of gratitude and celebration.”
“Start with Robert and his family … so much thanks for the opportunity to be a head coach here of 24 years. It’s an amazing opportunity. Received tremendous support,” Belichick added.
Belichick became the Patriots head coach in 2000 when the New York Jets traded his rights to New England. He had a losing season in 2000, but the Patriots dynasty kicked off the following year with the first of six championships.
“We had a vision of, you know, building a winner, building a championship football team here, and [it] exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations,” Belichick said. “The amount of success that we were able to achieve together through a lot of hard work and contributions of so many people, I’m very proud of that.”
“And I’ll always have those great memories … I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life,” Belichick added.
Bill Belichick Praises Assistant Coaches, Players Over the Years
Belichick went on to thank his plethora of assistant coaches followed by players over the years.
“I’ve had great coaches here that have made my job so much easier. It’s a long list, but the amount of work, preparation and diligence that they do — every one of them,” Belichick said. “I say this about the players and the coaches regardless of how long they were here … it was a great team effort, and everybody put in everything they had into it, and that’s why we were successful.”
Those coaches and players contributed to 19-straight winning seasons, 17 AFC East titles, and 10 Super Bowl appearances in that span. They helped Belichick amass 266 regular season wins and 31 postseason victories.
“From the coaches to the support staff, it was an amazing staff here that supported me in every way,” Belichick said. “All the scouting, and all the football support people from equipment and training, security, video, operations, and so forth right on down the line … dining room. I mean it’s all first class.”
Bill Belichick Exits Amid Patriots’ Downturn
Recent years didn’t produce first-class results in the post-Brady era. The Patriots endured three losing seasons, one playoff appearance, and no postseason wins in that span.
That included the Patriots’ 4-13 season in 2023, which stoked the rumors of Belichick’s departure.
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