New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick Parting Ways

One of the greatest dynasties in the history of American sports is finally coming to an end. The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick have mutually agreed to part ways, closing the book on a dominant 24-year run that included six Super Bowl wins and nine conference championships.

Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft on Head Coach Bill Belichick. pic.twitter.com/gHFZxGyo4D
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 11, 2024

Prior to the Patriots, Belichick made his name as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants under Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells from 1985 to 1990. Over their six years together, the two defensive masterminds led the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl wins and four top-five finishes in points allowed. They also played a part in elevating eight-time All-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor to a strata of stardom the NFL has seldom seen, including a rare MVP win for a defensive player in 1986.

That success earned Belichick his first head-coaching opportunity, an ultimately unsuccessful stint with the Cleveland Browns. From 1991 to 1995, Belichick's teams compiled a middling 36-44 record, but even they briefly flashed his aptitude as a defensive coach, finishing first in points allowed in 1994. Belichick was fired following a 5-11 season in 1995.

After rehabbing his value as a defensive backs coach with the Patriots in 1996 and as defensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 1997 to 1999, all under Parcells, Belichick earned his second shot at a head coaching job, joining the Patriots in 2000. Belichick went 5-13 over his first 18 games with the organization before an untimely injury to franchise quarterback and former first-overall pick Drew Bledsoe made way for one of the most unlikely success stories in NFL history. Tom Brady, the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, took over as starting quarterback, and the Patriots never looked back.

From 2001 to 2019, the Patriots posted 19 straight winning seasons and rewrote the record books: Six Super Bowls. Nine AFC championships. Eight straight conference championship game appearances from 2011 to 2018. In 19 years, Belichick and Brady accomplished more together than the vast majority of NFL franchises have in their entire history.

Belichick's status as the greatest coach in NFL history is secure, but his future in the league will depend on whether or not he can figure out how to move forward without Brady. He has yet to prove he's capable of fielding a consistently competitive offense without the legendary quarterback: over Brady's 283 starts, Belichick's teams scored an astonishing 28.1 points per game. In Belichick's 169 games as a head coach without Brady, his teams have scored 20.2 points per game. That's the difference between the top five and the bottom 10 in points scored most years, and that's why Belichick sports a .451 winning percentage without Brady and a .774 winning percentage with him.

Belichick would probably be best served by accentuating his strengths. He remains an effective defensive coach; his Patriots finished seventh in yards allowed this year. If he can surrender his control over personnel decisions and stay out of his offense's way, he could still be a winning coach. Reuniting with former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on a franchise with some pieces in place like the Atlanta Falcons or Washington Commanders would make sense, as would taking over the Dallas Cowboys should they eventually grow tired of head coach Mike McCarthy.

As for the Patriots, they need to start from the ground up. This year's disastrous 4-13 season has put them within range of a top quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, and they need to do everything they can to maximize that player's potential. They should focus on finding an offensive-minded coach with a history of developing young quarterbacks, like Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, or even Michigan's Jim Harbaugh.