The most decorated coaching tenure in modern NFL history is over after 24 years.
The Patriots and Bill Belichick have mutually agreed to part ways, ESPN first reported Thursday.
Belichick’s time in New England comes to an end after he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, nine AFC championships and 18 AFC East titles. However, Belichick’s Patriots squad has hit a wall in the four years following Tom Brady’s departure, making the playoffs just once (2021) and finishing with losing seasons in the other three years.
The Patriots hit the lowest point of Belichick’s tenure this season, posting their worst record at 4-13 in his two dozen years with the organization. Their 38-3 loss to the Cowboys in Week 4 was the worst loss of Belichick’s head coaching career, which includes his five seasons with the Browns. They were shut out by the Saints, 34-0, a week later, giving Belichick the worst home loss of his head coaching career.
New England and Belichick never rebounded from those losses, which put it at 1-4 through the first five weeks of the season. The Patriots were able to upset the Bills in Week 7, but they lost five games in a row following that win. One of those games included a 10-6 loss to the Colts in Germany in Week 10, a game that Patriots owner Robert Kraft significantly valued.
As hot-seat rumors surrounding Belichick grew louder following the Week 10 loss, the head coach opted to stick with struggling third-year quarterback Mac Jones following the bye week despite pulling him for a third time this season during the Colts game. Jones, who finished second in Offensive Player of the Year voting in 2021, significantly regressed over the last two seasons as Belichick took an unorthodox approach to replace offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in 2022, making longtime defensive coach Matt Patricia the offensive play-caller.
Patricia was replaced after one season for Bill O’Brien, but he wasn’t able to fix the offense’s woes. The Patriots’ offensive unit…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/patriots-fire-part-ways-with-bill-belichick
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Publish date : 2024-01-11 12:28:44
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