Bill Belichick to Leave New England Patriots After 24 Seasons

Bill Belichick will likely coach a new NFL team next year. According to Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss of ESPN, the New England Patriots head coach will leave the organization after 24 seasons. Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft spent this week meeting and discussing how each side wanted to proceed and both agreed to part ways. The two will have a press conference to address the move today at noon ET. 

Belichick, who had one year remaining on his contract, is not expected to retire. He will want to continue coaching and is expected to draw interest from several NFL teams that need a head coach. One team to watch for is the Atlanta Falcons as Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported they have been targeting Belichick for a few weeks. Belichick's exit comes less than 24 hours after his good friend Nick Saban announced his retirement from the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. 

Belichick, 71, was hired by the New England Patriots in 2000. In his 24 seasons as the Patriots head coach, Belichick won 17 AFC East titles, nine AFC championships and six Super Bowls. He was named AP Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2007, 2010), and is a member of the NFL's 2000 and 2010 All-Decade Teams. 

Before joining the Patriots, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995. During that time, Belichick just had one winning season, which was in 1994 when the Browns finished 11-5 and second in the AFC Central. Belichick got the job in Cleveland after having success as an assistant coach for the New York Giants. He was the Giant's defensive coordinator from 1985 to 1990 under head coach Bill Parcells and helped the team win two Super Bowls. 

In 1996, Belichick was the assistant head coach for the Patriots and was reunited with Parcells. During that season, the Patriots reached the Super Bowl but lost to the Green Bay Packers. The following year, Belichick joined the New York Jets as the assistant head coach under Parcells. Belichick left the Jets following the 1999 season to join the Patriots. 

As an NFL head coach, Belichick has won 333 games (including playoffs), ranking second all-time behind Don Shula who has 347. Belichick is one of three coaches in NFL history to have six league championships since it began postseason play in 1933.