Jerod Mayo made his exit known.
Jerod Mayo, the Patriots’ head coach, announced his retirement.
There was no ill will between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, as sources told the site, adding that they had been in discussions all week about the decision and the best way to handle it.
The same information was leaked by NFL insiders, who said that Belichick’s decision to go was reached in concert with the Patriots.
Belichick has not yet responded to the news, but he is anticipated to do so on Thursday at a press conference with Kraft, 82. According to ESPN, he is anticipated to look for head coach openings throughout the league as he still has an interest in coaching.
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After winning a record-tying six Super Bowls, Belichick cemented his legacy as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. After playing for the New York Giants, New York Jets, and Cleveland Browns as head coach, he joined the Patriots in 2000.
In 2022, Belichick celebrated his 49th season as the league’s coach. The 45 consecutive seasons as a coach set by Dick LeBeau before the milestone was surpassed.
One day after accepting a head coaching position with the Patriots, Belichick announced his departure from the Jets in 2020, calling it “not only one of the most defining, but you know, one of the best moments of my career.”
The Jets position “wasn’t a good circumstance for me, and I didn’t want to be part of it,” he said on WEEI Sports Radio.
After three weeks, Kraft pulled off a transaction to get Belichick the job as head coach of New England. “I couldn’t have hoped for anything more, especially with that and Robert giving me the chance to come here,” Belichick remarked.
Belichick’s friendship with former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, whom he famously took a chance on in 2001 and who helped lead the team to their first-ever Super Bowl triumph, is one of his most noteworthy accomplishments.
The group went on to win three more Super Bowls in a row in 2003 and 2004 in addition to one in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
The club started a gradual decline from the top after Brady left the Patriots in 2020, and they finished this season with a 4-13 record.”Patriot for Life”: Tom Brady Returns to the New England Patriots for an Impactful Halftime Ceremony
Reporters questioned Belichick about his future with the team in December of last year because the Patriots had only won three games by then.
The Patriots’ 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany was highlighted by NBC as the final straw in the team’s decision to remove him as head coach following the season, according to multiple publications.
In December, when reporters questioned Belichick about his future with the organization, he would only talk about the Patriots’ upcoming game, saying again, “Getting ready for Kansas City.”
In response to criticism of Belichick for the team’s performance this season, Brady, 46, defended his former coach during an appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, referring to him as “the best coach, in my opinion, in the history of the game.”
The renowned quarterback continued, “The thought of him not being in New England is hard for me to think about,” in reference to Belichick. He retired last year after playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs for two seasons.
