The New England Patriots have been a football powerhouse known for their numerous Super Bowl wins and special moments under the seasoned leadership of Bill Belichick. Across the last five seasons, however, the Patriots dynasty has come to an end.

Belichick began his career as an assistant coach in 1975 with the Baltimore Colts. From there, he bounced around coaching jobs in the National Football League (NFL), including coaching for the New York Giants, where he won two Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator.

Belichick then took over the head coaching job for New England in January of 2000 and would go on to win a total of 302 regular season games while amassing the most playoff wins as an NFL head coach of all time at 31 wins. The decorated coach also won the Associated Press Coach of the Year award in 2003, 2007 and 2010. Belichick’s reign as one of the most dominant head coaches in sports history persisted well into the later half of his career as a Patriot, winning his last Super Bowl in 2019.

In the 2020 season, the Patriots faced the departure of legendary quarterback, Tom Brady, a core component to the six Super Bowl victories. The subsequent seasons, following Brady’s departure, saw the team enter a rebuilding phase, experimenting with new young talent and coaching strategies.

During this phase, the team struggled, needing to fill the role of a crucial player to any football team, the quarterback. In 2021, New England fans began to see resilience and adaptability from then-head coach Bill Belichick after he drafted former University of Alabama standout, Mac Jones.

Patriots fans, however, were soon disappointed in Jones’s less-than-ideal start with the Patriots, posting a record of 22 wins and 29 losses since 2021. Mac Jones was benched four separate times throughout the 2023-2024 season before ultimately being benched for backup quarterback Bailey Zappe in week 12.

The 24-year-old backup threw six touchdowns and nine interceptions in his ten appearances in the 2023-2024 season. Jones, comparatively, threw for ten touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 11 appearances. New Englanders soon grasped that the Patriots’ days of dominance were behind them.

Boston Latin School varsity football quarterback August Groh (II) understands the challenges and difficulty of the position. As such, he is perhaps more sympathetic to Jones’s and Zappe’s struggles than other Patriots fans. Groh explains, “He has had no weapons these last two seasons,” referencing the lack of offensive talent surrounding the two young quarterbacks. Groh adds that the struggle was not completely Jones’s fault, saying, “Yes, he played poorly, but also was never bailed out by any of his teammates who also played poorly at times.”

Following the 2023-2024 season, where the team missed the playoffs by a longshot with an overall record of four wins and 13 losses, the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick decided to mutually split ways after 24 long seasons full of championships, broken records and special moments.

Belichick says in a news conference to USA Today, that “Robert [Kraft] and I, after a series of discussions, have mutually agreed to part ways.” His departure brings forward a multitude of questions about the Patriots’ future success.

 Following the mutual split, Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, expressed interest in hiring former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, who accepted the position and is filling the head coach vacancy for the Patriots. Although change can be daunting, the Patriots are known for their quick adaptability. 

“I’ve been a Patriots fan my whole life,” says Will Ferraro (II), a two-year veteran linebacker for the BLS varsity football team. “But in recent times, I’ve come to be annoyed by the Patriots’ frequent losses.” Additionally, Ferraro, who was initially excited to see Mac Jones in a Patriots uniform, has since become frustrated stating, “Mac’s track record has slowly but surely declined to a very low point, and Zappe now seems like the next best thing.” 

At 71 years old, Belichick, the 17-time American Football Conference East division champion, did not allude to retirement during press conferences and media responses, leaving the door open for future coaching opportunities. Belichick believes he has more work to do, expressing interest in going for the regular season win record. He has received interest from the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons. but has not made any decisions yet, still searching for the right team.