Bill Belichick Makes an Announcement About His Future

The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick "are expected to part ways" on Thursday "after a remarkable 24 seasons together." That run ended with an excruciatingly underwhelming 2023-24 season, where the once dominant team finished the season with a 4-13 record, becoming one of the first teams eliminated from making the playoffs.

From ESPN:

Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft spent a good part of this week periodically meeting and discussing how each side wanted to proceed. From sources familiar with those conversations, there was said to be no conflict, no disagreement, and in the end, productive talks resulted in a mutual decision that left both sides comfortable and at ease.
Both Belichick and Kraft, as one outside party noted, "took the high road," which was fitting for an owner-coach tandem that will go down as one of the greatest and most decorated in NFL history.
Belichick, who had one year remaining on his contract, will be allowed to leave the team without the Patriots seeking compensation. He will want to continue coaching and is expected to draw interest from at least some of the other seven NFL teams that have head-coaching vacancies, quite possibly the Atlanta Falcons, league sources said.
The Patriots now will embark on their first head-coaching search in a quarter century. Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, whom the team signed to a contract extension in the offseason and Kraft has identified as a rising head-coaching candidate, projects to be a, if not the, leading candidate for the job, sources said. Mayo played for the Patriots from 2008 to 2014 and has been an assistant under Belichick since 2019.

There has long been speculation about Belichick's future with the Patriots due to the incredibly disappointing season. The Patriots had a losing record in three of the last four seasons since losing famed quarterback Tom Brady after the 2019 season when the Patriots won their last Super Bowl. Brady went on to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl victory in 2021.

Belichick, 71, leaves New England with 333 career victories (including playoffs), ranking second all time behind Don Shula and his 347. Belichick, George Halas and Curly Lambeau are the only NFL coaches with six championships since the league began postseason play in 1933.
Belichick's 24-year tenure was the fifth-longest of any head coach with one team. He had completed his 49th consecutive NFL season in 2023, the most consecutive coaching seasons in league history.
He is now looking to spend season No. 50 with another NFL franchise.

Belichick's coaching career boasts several achievements that should endure for the foreseeable future. These include a record-breaking 17 division titles, the most conference championships by a head coach in the Super Bowl era, with nine titles, and a combined 12 Super Bowl appearances when you include his time as an assistant coach. He was also the coach for one of only four undefeated and untied regular seasons in NFL history, and he has 21 winning seasons as a head coach.

The Patriots have scheduled a news conference with Belichick and Kraft for noon ET on Thursday.