The highs and lows of Bill Belichick’s legendary Patriots run
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Bill Belichick’s 24-year run as head coach and chief football executive of the New England Patriots is over.
Whether you think of the unmatched success or the frequent controversy first, there was plenty of both.
HIGHS
- A record six Super Bowl championships from the 2001-19 seasons, including the last team to repeat (2003-04).
- Selected Tom Brady with the No. 199 pick overall in the sixth round of the 2000 draft and stuck with him over the accomplished Drew Bledsoe in 2001.
- 266-121 regular-season record, bringing his career record to 302-165 (third-most wins all-time).
- 30-12 playoffs record (31-13 including his time in Cleveland), the most playoff wins of all-time.
- Nine AFC titles in 13 appearances in the AFC Championship game.
- 17 AFC East titles, including a record 11 straight (2009-19).
- A record 10 consecutive playoff games won (2001-05).
- A record 21 consecutive wins in the regular season and postseason (2003-04).
- 16-0 regular season in 2007, just the second undefeated record in NFL history.
- Three-time Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year (2003, 2007, 2010).
- Master of rule-book exploitation, time management and week-to-week scheme versatility.
What we know about the split between the Patriots and Bill Belichick
The Patriots and Bill Belichick will reportedly part ways on Thursday after 24 years and six Super Bowl wins.
Rumors had swirled around Belichick’s future all season as the Patriots finished with a 4-13 record and missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Belichick met with Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the past several days before reaching the mutual decision.
Belichick notched a 266-121 overall record with the Patriots and has another 31 playoff victories.
The 71-year-old has no plans to retire, and needs just 15 more wins to match Don Shula’s all-time wins record — regular season and playoffs — by a head coach in NFL history.
The Falcons, who fired Arthur Smith after the season, are the most likely suitor for Belichick, according to ESPN.
Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is the favorite to replace Belichick with Mike Vrabel, who was fired by the Titans, also a possibility. Others with prior ties to the Patriots, including Brian Flores and Josh McDaniels, could be in the mix as well.
LOWS
- 48-59 record without Brady, including 29-38 over the last four years (plus 0-1 in the playoffs).
- Spygate I (filming opposing coaches’ signals on the sidelines in 2007) resulted in a $500,000 fine for Belichick, $250,000 for the team and the forfeiture of a first-round draft pick.
- Deflategate (deflating the air pressure in footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship game) mostly blew back on Brady but the team was fined $1 million and forfeited two draft picks.
- Spygate II (Patriots’ television crews filming the Browns’ sideline during a Bengals-Browns game in 2019) resulted in a $1.1 million fine for the team and forfeiture of a third-round draft pick).
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