Entertainment Sports Football Bill Belichick Officially Out as Coach of New England Patriots, Says Goodbye: ‘I'll Always Be a Patriot’ The longtime New England coach led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories By Sean Neumann Sean Neumann Sean Neumann is a reporter at PEOPLE. He has been working at PEOPLE since 2019. His work has previously appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, ESPN, and more. People Editorial Guidelines and Juliet Pennington Updated on January 11, 2024 04:04PM EST Bill Belichick said his goodbyes to the New England Patriots franchise on Thursday, marking the end of the most successful coaching tenures in NFL history.Belichick, 71, told reporters at a departing press conference that “this is a day of gratitude and celebration." “I’ll always be a Patriot,” he said.The longtime Patriots coach holds the record for most Super Bowl victories and appearances by a head coach, as well as the most conference and division titles. All came during Belichick’s 24-year tenure with the team, the fifth longest coaching tenure in NFL history. He is now free to join another NFL franchise as its next head coach. "I look forward to coming back here," Belichick said, adding, “I’ll always have those great memories. I’ll carry those with me the rest of my life.” Maddie Meyer/Getty Afterwards, Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters that Thursday was "a very emotional day for me." "What Bill accomplished, in my opinion, will never be duplicated,” Kraft said. Bill Belichick's 3 Kids: All About Amanda, Steve and Brian Bill Belichick. Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Kraft said Belichick’s departure “represents the end of an era” for the Patriots. “One that will hopefully always be celebrated in this region,” the team’s owner said. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick Talk Patriots Wins, Aaron Hernandez in Dynasty: New England Patriots Trailer The Patriots and Belichick breakup became official Thursday morning, when the team announced it had “mutually agreed to part ways” with its former head coach. Kraft had told ESPN last week that he was “really disappointed” in the Patriots 2023 season.“I had hoped things would be a lot better,” the owner said after the team concluded a 4-13 season, the worst record in the AFC Conference. Tom Brady Returns to New England Patriots for Emotional Halftime Ceremony: 'Patriot for Life!' Bill Belichick. Simon Bruty /Sports Illustrated via Getty Belichick began his coaching career in 1975 and went on to hold a number of assistant coaching roles for the Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and the New York Giants before taking over as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991. He first joined the Patriots in 1996 as an assistant to then-head coach Bill Parcells before leaving the franchise to become the New York Jets head coach in 1997. Belichick would later return to New England in 2000, where he remained the team's head coach throughout the team's dynasty in the 2000s. Belichick’s departure comes nearly four years after quarterback Tom Brady left the team and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won one more Super Bowl title in 2021. Brady was drafted by the Patriots in 2000, the same year Belichick began coaching the team. The next year, the historic duo led New England to its first Super Bowl title in 2001. The pair went on to lead the Patriots to five more championships over the next 19 years before Brady left the team as a free agent. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Kraft said Thursday that he always had high expectations for Belichick and the team throughout the coach’s career with the franchise. “It’s safe to say we exceeded them,” Kraft said.