Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick shake hands at the start of the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on January 16, 2016.
CNN
—
Tom Brady paid tribute to Bill Belichick, the long-time head coach of the New England Patriots with whom he had so much success, after the 71-year-old announced on Thursday that he is leaving the team after 24 seasons at the helm.
Brady was drafted by Belichick and the Patriots with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, and together, they formed the most threatening head coach-quarterback duo arguably in NFL history over the next two decades.
They won six Super Bowl titles together, as they both cemented their statuses as the best at their respective positions in NFL history.
And hours after Belichick’s press conference in which he confirmed he was leaving New England, the 46-year-old Brady paid his respects to the former Patriots coach.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have played for the best coach in the history of the NFL,” he wrote on Instagram.
“He was a great leader for the organization, and for all of the players who played for him. We accomplished some amazing things over a long period of time, many of which will be hard to replicate. He worked every day to help us achieve the ultimate goal, in the ultimate team sport.
“And, although we were successful, some of the greatest lessons I learned were in the moments where we faced the most challenging adversities. He set the tone for the organization to never falter in the face of adversity, and to do what we could do, and what was in our control, which was to go out and DO OUR JOB.”
Brady added that he “could never have been the player I was without you Coach Belichick. I am forever grateful. And I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose next.”
Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images
Bill Belichick holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after coaching the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl win in 2004. It was the second of his six Super Bowl wins.
Arthur Anderson/Getty Images
Belichick, right, coaches alongside New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells during a playoff game in 1984. Belichick later became Parcells’ defensive coordinator, and they won two Super Bowl titles together. Parcells acted as a mentor for a young Belichick, and their relationship was later immortalized in an ESPN special, “The Two Bills.”
Focus On Sport/Getty Images
Belichick poses for a portrait in 1985.
Ralph Waclawicz/Getty Images
Belichick diagrams his strategy as he talks to his players during a playoff game in 1990.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Belichick earned his first head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991. He was let go in the franchise’s acrimonious move to Baltimore a few years later.
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
Belichick looks on from the sideline during a game against the Denver Broncos in 1993.
Wayne Scarberry/AFP/Getty Images
Belichick hugs Anthony Pleasant after defeating the Buffalo Bills in 1998. He was serving under Parcells again as the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator.
Al Pereira/Getty Images
Belichick poses for a portrait in 2000. After Parcells retired, Belichick served as head coach of the Jets for approximately one day. With concerns about the pending sale of the team, he announced his resignation as head coach a day after being given the title.
Al Messerschmidt Archive/AP
Belichick meets with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft before the NFL Hall of Fame Game in 2000. Kraft hired Belichick to be head coach of the Patriots.
Kevin Terrell/AP
Belichick speaks after leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl win against the St. Louis Rams in 2002. It was the Patriots’ first championship.
Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
Quarterback Tom Brady listens to Belichick during a snowy game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003. The two helped transform the Patriots into a 21st-century juggernaut.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images
Belichick and the Patriots react after winning another Super Bowl in 2004.
David J. Phillip/AP
Belichick and his father, Steve, are doused with water after the Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl in 2005. It was the Patriots’ third Super Bowl victory in four seasons.
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
Belichick and Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch chat with late-night TV host Jay Leno in 2005.
Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
Belichick abruptly ends a press conference in 2007. At the beginning of the 2007 season, the Patriots were caught videotaping the New York Jets coaches’ hand signals during a game. The scandal became known as Spygate. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Belichick $500,000, while the team was fined $250,000 and lost a first-round draft pick.
Reed Saxon/AP
Belichick talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning during a Pro Bowl practice in Hawaii in 2007.
Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
Belichick leaves the field after coming up short against the New York Giants in the Super Bowl in 2012. Belichick made nine Super Bowl appearances as the Patriots’ head coach, winning six and losing three. The Giants served Belichick two of those three losses.
Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Patriots fans hold cutouts of Belichick’s face before the AFC Championship Game in 2015.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Belichick watches from the sideline as his team plays the Seattle Seahawks in the 2015 Super Bowl.
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Brady and Belichick celebrate their 2015 Super Bowl win.
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Belichick presents President Donald Trump with an official Super Bowl helmet at the White House in 2017. The Patriots were coming off one of their most famous Super Bowl wins — when they rallied from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. It was the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Brady and Belichick embrace after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2019 Super Bowl.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Belichick leaves the field after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in December 2023. His final season with the Patriots was his worst as head coach. The Patriots won only four of the 17 games they played.
Steven Senne/AP
Belichick faces reporters as Patriots owner Robert Kraft looks on in January 2024. Belichick said the two of them “mutually agreed” to part ways when they met following the end of the 2023 season.
Belichick’s departure from New England leaves a seismic vacuum in his wake, with the organization searching for its first head coach since the turn of the millennium.
However, according to multiple reports, Patriots owner Robert Kraft might not be waiting around to make a decision.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and The Athletic citing unnamed league sources on Thursday, Jerod Mayo – a Patriots assistant since 2019 and former New England player – is the leading candidate to replace Belichick.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Jerod Mayo looks on during the Patriots’ game against the Arizona Cardinals in 2022.
Mayo played eight seasons for the Patriots as a linebacker, being voted to the Pro Bowl twice and winning the Super Bowl in 2015. He has coached the linebackers portion of the New England defense since 2019.
Former Patriots player Mike Vrabel – who was also fired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans earlier this week – has also been linked to the head coach opening in New England.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
