Bill Belichick leaving Patriots after 24 seasons, six titles - ESPN

Bill Belichick will no longer serve as New England Patriots coach after a remarkable 24 seasons, saying Thursday that «This is a day of gratitude and celebration.»

The decision ends an unmatched run in NFL history that included six Super Bowl titles.

Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft spent a good part of this week periodically meeting and discussing how each side wanted to proceed. From sources familiar with those conversations, there was said to be no conflict, no disagreement, and in the end, productive talks resulted in a mutual decision that left both sides comfortable and at ease.

Both Belichick and Kraft, as one outside party noted, «took the high road,» which was fitting for an owner-coach tandem that will go down as one of the greatest and most decorated in NFL history.

Belichick, who had one year remaining on his contract, will be allowed to leave the team without the Patriots seeking compensation. He will want to continue coaching and is expected to draw interest from at least some of the other seven NFL teams that have head-coaching vacancies, quite possibly the Atlanta Falcons, league sources said.

The Patriots now will embark on their first head-coaching search in a quarter century. Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, whom the team signed to a contract extension in the offseason and Kraft has identified as a rising head-coaching candidate, projects to be a, if not the, leading candidate for the job, sources said. Mayo played for the Patriots from 2008 to 2014 and has been an assistant under Belichick since 2019.

Only George Halas had more wins with a single franchise (including playoffs) than Bill Belichick's 296 with the Patriots.

Belichick's exit from New England occurred less than 24 hours