Patriots parting with Belichick, who led team to 6 titles
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots on Thursday, bringing an end to his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty of the league’s Super Bowl era, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because it has not yet been announced.
ESPN first reported the decision. A news conference is planned for later in the day in which team owner Robert Kraft and Belichick will address the decision.
Belichick, 71, became just the third coach in NFL history to reach 300 career regular-season wins earlier this season, joining Hall of Famers Don Shula and George Halas. With 333 wins including the playoffs, Belichick trails only Shula (347 wins) for the record for victories by a coach.
But the Patriots ended this season 413, Belichick’s worst record in 29 seasons as an NFL head coach. It supplanted the 5-11 mark he managed in his last year in Cleveland in 1995 and again in his first year in New England in 2000. Including the playoffs, he ends his Patriots tenure with a 333-178 overall record.
With his cutoff hoodies and everpresent scowl, Belichick teamed with quarterback Tom Brady to lead the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, nine AFC titles and 17 division championships in 19 years. During a less successful – but also tumultuous – stint with the original Cleveland Browns, Belichick earned 37 of his career victories.
It’s not immediately clear who Kraft will tap to replace the future Hall of Famer.
Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo won a Super Bowl ring playing under Belichick and has interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies since becoming a New England assistant in 2019. Mayo turned down a few interviews last offseason before signing a contract extension to remain with the Patriots.
Mike Vrabel, who was fired earlier this week by the Tennessee Titans and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, is also expected to be a candidate for the head coaching job.
Tour event on Thursday.
Yannik Paul of Germany was two shots behind at Dubai Creek Resort.
McIlroy sees the Dubai event – a tournament in a relaxed setting, with no cut and a 60-man field – as a gentle way to ease into 2024.
Soccer player Stones, F1 driver Albon invest in team from Woods, McIlroy
LISBON, Portugal – Manchester City defender John Stones and Formula One driver Alex Albon have joined Steph Curry in investing in a franchise in the high-tech golf competition created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Stones and Albon have through their investment in fund manager Apex joined Curry in the investor group behind the San Francisco team that will play in the TGL project that launches next year.
The Lisbon-based fund said Thursday it acquired a stake in the San Francisco franchise, one of six in TGL that will play in a domed arena in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Matches will be played over 15 holes where longer shots played off real grass or sand are hit into a giant simulator. Short-game shots are played to a hightech green complex that rotates on a turntable to create different contours.
The two-hour matches are set to be broadcast by ESPN on a three-month schedule when it starts in 2025, ending before the Masters in April.
Woods is a player and co-owner in the Florida team Jupiter Links.