BREAKING_ Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick Expected to Part Ways After 24 Seasons

Belichick's exit from New England occurred less than 24 hours after his close friend Nick Saban retired from Alabama.

There is a symmetry and a similarity in the departures of two football legends -- men who are widely considered the greatest coach in professional history and the greatest coach in college football history. Belichick helped lead the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl titles; Saban led Alabama to nine SEC titles and six national championships.

Additionally, Saban succeeded Pete Carroll as the Ohio State secondary coach in 1980; when Belichick was head coach in Cleveland, he worked with Saban from 1991 to 1994; and Belichick replaced Carroll as the Patriots' head coach in 2000, decades before all three vacated their long-standing jobs this week in a 24-hour period.
The fact that Belichick and Kraft are going their own ways carries an element of sadness, but not surprise. Kraft had pointed out how important it was for the Patriots to make the playoffs this season. Instead, they were one of the first teams eliminated, on Dec. 10.

Speculation about Belichick's future swirled during the 2023 season, with one of the lowest points for the team coming Nov. 12 in a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany.
Before that game, addressing this past season, the 82-year-old Kraft told NFL Network: "It's really been disappointing. I had hoped things would be a lot better, as I know our fan base did. ... This isn't what we were expecting to happen this year."

Another key factor for Kraft was the franchise's trajectory since Brady's departure as a free agent after the 2019 season. Since losing Brady, which pained Kraft, the Patriots have posted losing records in three of their four seasons, and their last playoff win was a 13-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, 2019 -- when Brady was on the team.

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.