Bill Belichick's departure from New England ends an unprecedented run, puts Patriots at a crossroads

It began 24 years ago with a scribbled resignation note as HC of the NYJ and the yielding of a first-round draft pick in compensation. In the time since, there have been taciturn press conferences, league investigations, bottomless brilliance as a football tactician, a sometimes-uneasy partnership with Tom Brady, an often joyless-seeming approach to business, a staggering run of excellence that included six Super Bowl championships and, finally, an erosion of the roster crafted by the team's de facto general manager that even the greatest coach in NFL history -- who happened to be the same person -- could not mask. 

The reign of Bill Belichick over New England and its Patriots ended Thursday, and for drama and absolute dominance, the league might never again see anything like it. 

But another owner will surely try to recreate what, in happier days, they used to call "The Patriot Way." Belichick, at age 71, is notably not hanging up his hoodies. Thursday's development was a mutual parting of ways between Belichick and the Patriots, not a coach's retirement. And Belichick's gruff but wildly successful brand of culture creation and franchise molding will almost certainly be attractive to team owners who are looking for their own fresh start. Belichick leaves the Patriots with 333 total victories (playoffs included), just 14 shy of Don Shula's all-time record of 347. It is hard to imagine Belichick, who has a deep appreciation for football history, leaving the sideline without that record to his name.

The hope in New England was that Belichick would set the record there. Even after the 2022 campaign, when Patriots owner Robert Kraft did little to hide his ire for how that 8-9 season went -- especially Belichick's