Bill Belichick, whose six Super Bowl wins as head coach are an NFL record, is leaving the New England Patriots after 24 years.
He and the Patriots have mutually agreed to part ways, NBC Sports Pro Football talk says, citing US reports.
His remarkable run with the Boston-based NFL team came alongside celebrated quarterback Tom Brady, with the pair winning a string of championships together.
The news comes after a loss to the New York Jets on Sunday saw the Patriots slump to a 4-13 record to end the season, the worst of Belichick’s tenure.
Belichick, 71, had led the Patriots since 2000 and went on to steer the team to six wins from nine Super Bowl appearances – including three in four seasons – as well as clinching 17 AFC East division titles and playing in four more AFC Championship Games while reaching the playoffs on 18 occasions.
He established himself as the league’s most influential and dominant defensive mind as he dictated schematic trends, while overseeing a famed recruitment policy that would see New England construct their Championship-winning rosters with cut-price deals and savvy contracts.
Belichick is currently ranked third in the list of all-time career wins by a head coach with 302, 26 behind the record-holder Don Shula.
