Legendary New England Patriots coach set to leave after 23 years

Legendary head coach Bill Belichick is to hold a news conference at 17:00 GMT amid US media reports that he will leave, external the New England Patriots.

The 71-year-old has been Patriots coach since 2000 and has won six Super Bowls and been a runner-up three times.

But since the departure of Tom Brady in 2020 they have made just one play-off appearance and on Sunday they suffered a 13th defeat of the season.

Belichick is due to speak alongside Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The Patriots ended the regular season with a 4-13 record and finished last in the AFC East for the first time in 24 years, while 13 defeats is the most Belichick has endured during his 26-year head coaching career.

His side have finished with losing records in three of the past four seasons and recorded back-to-back losing campaigns for the first time since 1993 this term.

That is a steep decline from the golden period between 2001 and 2019 where, led by legendary quarterback Brady and Belichick, the Patriots played in nine Super Bowls – more than any other NFL franchise.

Belichick’s six Super Bowl titles are a record for a head coach.

He has eight in total after winning two titles as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants and was also runner-up during a short spell as Patriots assistant in 1996.

He is the head coach with the most play-off appearances (19), play-off games (44) and play-off wins (31) and, with 333 victories overall, is second on the all-time list behind legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula on 347.