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New England Patriots former head coach Bill Belichick. Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Belichick's Patriots tenure was just as controversial as it was historic

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/11/24

A firm handshake and an awkward side hug with owner Robert Kraft on Thursday afternoon marked the final moments of Bill Belichick’s 24-year tenure as the head coach of the New England Patriots.

Belichick and Kraft mutually agreed to part ways after a 4-13 season — the team’s worst since going 2-12 in 1992 — closing the book on one of the more historic head-coaching runs in NFL history.

After an underwhelming five-year stretch as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Belichick put together his soon-to-be Hall of Fame resume over the next two decades, winning six Super Bowl championships, 17 division titles and three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards.

Under his guidance, New England strung together 19 consecutive winning seasons, and Belichick broke NFL records for most playoff games coached (44) and most playoff wins (31) while working his way up to the third-most regular-season wins as a head coach in league history (302).

“Coach Belichick will forever be celebrated as a legendary sports icon here in New England and I believe (he’ll) go in as a Pro Football Hall of Famer on the first ballot,” Kraft said during a Thursday news conference. “Why? Because he is the greatest coach of all time, which makes this decision to part ways so hard.”

While no one can refute the historic career Belichick built for himself, there is an asterisk-shaped dark cloud that has followed the 71-year-old coach for more than a decade-and-a-half — the consequence of a reputation built on an anti-establishment bravado and years of thumbing his nose at the NFL and its rules.

Belichick liked to operate in the gray. He wouldn’t just cross the line from time to time, he’d jump rope with it. He did so frequently, and he found himself meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about as often as a high school bully found himself at the principal’s office.

Don Shula calls Bill Belichick “Beli-cheat”: http://t.co/BJLJVV1yNh pic.twitter.com/oUk40QBRBJ
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 8, 2015

A timeline of some of Belichick's biggest scandals is listed below.

2006: Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella was caught videotaping the Green Bay Packers sideline during a game in November 2006.

2007 (Spygate): Estrella was busted once again, this time videotaping the New York Jets sideline during a game in September 2007 in an attempt to allegedly steal the team’s defensive signals. Belichick was fined $500,000, the Patriots were fined $250,000 and the team forfeited its 2008 first-round draft pick.

2014: Former Patriots players Brandon Spikes and Aqib Talib both admitted the Patriots coaching staff falsified their injury designations on weekly injury reports sent to the league, making their injuries appear to be more serious than they were.

2014 (Deflategate): The Patriots were accused of deflating footballs during their AFC Championship Game matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. The team was fined $1 million and forfeited its first- and fourth-round picks that year. Quarterback Tom Brady was also given a four-game suspension.

2015: The Pittsburgh Steelers accused the Patriots of tampering with their headsets during the 2015 season opener. Steelers coaches claimed they were unable to communicate with their players using the headsets because they instead heard a radio station being broadcasted.

2019: The Patriots were yet again caught videotaping the Cincinnati Bengals sideline during a December 2019 game against the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots were fined $1 million and forfeited a third-round pick.

For those who lost track, that $2.75 million in fines plus four lost draft picks.

Sure, Belichick has more Super Bowl rings than any other coach in NFL history. And sure, he very well may be remembered as the greatest head coach in NFL history when his career finally ends, but Belichick will also go down as its greatest rule-breaker as well.

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