Bill Belichick and Patriots Part Ways: Year-by-Year Timeline of the Coach’s Career
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are parting ways after 24 seasons, ending one of the most successful coaching head coaching stints in NFL history and all major sports leagues in the United States.
Belichick—with the help of quarterback Tom Brady—guided the Patriots to six Super Bowls, nine AFC championships and 17 AFC East titles, including 11 consecutive division crowns. But the Patriots missed the postseason three of the past four seasons, and the final two were tumultuous with a poor offense.
Here’s a year-by-year look at how the Patriots performed under Belichick from 2000 to ’23.
2000
Record: 5–11, fifth in AFC East, no playoffs
Belichick was hired by the Patriots in late January.
Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated
After four years as coach of the Cleveland Browns (where he won a single playoff game), and a brief stint with the New York Jets, Belichick struggled in his first season with the Patriots. New England started 0–4 and never recovered, creeping back to 2–4 before losing four straight to finish any playoff hopes. Drew Bledsoe started all 16 games and threw 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, earning a $100 million extension the following offseason.
The Patriots’ offense was essentially the combination of receivers Terry Glenn and Troy Brown, who combined for 162 receptions, 1,907 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Defensively, New England finished 17th in points allowed. The unit was led by linebacker Willie McGinest, who finished with six sacks.
2001
2002
Record: 9–7, second in AFC East, no playoffs
After the defense finished sixth defensively in 2001, the unit regressed to the mean in ’02, falling to 17th. The result was the Patriots starting 3–0 before losing four straight, then vacillating between improvement and faltering, keeping New England from the playoffs.
Belichick had to prove his New England team and the Super Bowl title wasn’t a fluke.
Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated
The Patriots saw Brady author a terrific year after having a Cinderella season, throwing 28 touchdowns while totaling 3,764 yards. Brady’s top target was Troy Brown, who caught 97 passes for 890 yards and three scores.
However, the dominant story line coming out of Foxborough was the question of whether the Patriots were a one-year wonder, or whether they had sustained a Super Bowl hangover.
2003
2004
Record: 14–2, first in AFC East, won Super Bowl
This Patriots team did something no team has done since: went back-to-back. After winning 12 consecutive regular-season games to end the 2003 season, New England won its first six games in the ’04 campaign before finally being knocked off by the Pittsburgh Steelers and rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
After finishing 14–2 once again, the Patriots were the No. 2 seed as Pittsburgh went 15–1. In the postseason, New England once again handled Peyton Manning & Co. before going to Heinz Field and blasting the Steelers in a rematch.
The Patriots’ 34 wins in 2003 and ’04 mark the highest two-year win total in NFL history.
Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated
In Super Bowl XXXIX, the Patriots beat Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, cementing their status as a dynasty.
2005
2006
2007
Record: 16–0, first in AFC East, lost Super Bowl
Even without a championship, the 2007 Patriots were arguably one of the greatest teams to grace a football field.
Belichick won his second Coach of the Year award in 2007.
Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated
In the winter, New England added a slew of new, high-end talent for Brady, including wide receiver Randy Moss and slot extraordinaire Wes Welker. The result is one of the best offenses ever assembled.
Moss caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes, while Brady threw for 50. The Patriots scored an incredible 589 points, averaging 36.8 per game. Meanwhile, the defense finished fourth in scoring, helping New England become the second team in the Super Bowl era to have an unbeaten regular season.
In Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants stunned the world, winning 17–14 on the back of David Tyree’s famous Helmet Catch.
2008
2009
Record: 10–6, first in AFC East, lost wild-card round
Despite Welker and Moss combining for more than 2,500 receiving yards, the Patriots won only 10 regular-season games.
The 2009 New England team became the first to go above .500 for nine consecutive seasons in over 15 years.
John Biever/Sports Illustrated
Regardless, New England found its way back to the AFC East penthouse, winning three of its last four games on its way back to the postseason. In his first season back from a torn ACL, Brady threw for 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl honors.
Yet in the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens came into Foxborough for a wild-card matchup and smoked the Patriots from the start, as Ray Rice ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Baltimore won 33–14 before going on to the AFC title game.
2010
2011
Record: 13–3, first in AFC East, lost Super Bowl
Once again, the offense led the way.
The Patriots began the season with five consecutive 30-point games, securing an eventual dozen such contests throughout the year. Brady was sublime once more, throwing for 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns, while tight end Rob Gronkowski earned first-team All-Pro status with 90 catches, 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Defensively, New England was average, ranking 15th in points allowed. Andre Carter and Mark Anderson each tallied 10 sacks to lead the team, while corner Kyle Arrington had seven interceptions.
Belichick is the first NFL head coach to lead a team to three straight 500-point seasons, from 2010 to ’12.
Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated
In the postseason, the Patriots destroyed Tim Tebow and the Broncos before squeaking by the Ravens in the AFC title game. However, in Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants once again got the best of Belichick’s team, winning 21–17.
2012
2013
2014
Record: 12–4, first in AFC East, won Super Bowl
The Patriots finally returned to the mountaintop, 10 seasons after beating the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Again, the Patriots added a notable former Buccaneer, signing Hall of Fame cornerback Darrelle Revis hours after he was released by Tampa Bay. Revis fit perfectly into Belichick’s defense and regained his All-Pro form. (Ironically, the Buccaneers would later acquire a prominent former Patriot to help them win the Super Bowl.)
Gronkowski also was named a first-team All-Pro, recording a team-high 1,124 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns. Brady, whose backup was rookie Jimmy Garoppolo, recorded 4,109 yards, 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Jamie Collins racked up 115 total tackles, and special teams ace Matthew Slater made his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
Belichick’s fourth Super Bowl win tied the Steelers’ Chuck Noll for most by a coach.
Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated
The Patriots beat the Ravens and Colts en route to meeting the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, a game best remembered for Malcolm Butler’s late interception against Wilson in the end zone. That was Butler’s first career pick—the undrafted rookie was mostly a rotational defensive back.
2015
2016
Record: 14–2, first in AFC East, won Super Bowl
After lengthy legal battles, Brady was forced to miss the first four games of the season because he was suspended for his alleged involvement in Deflategate.
Technically, Brady was supposed to serve his suspension the season before, but multiple appeals delayed the process. Garoppolo started the first two games of the season, and Jacoby Brissett started the other two after Garoppolo sustained an injury.
Once Brady returned, he played lights out, with an absurd 28–to–2 touchdown-interception ratio during the final 12 games of the regular season. Brady continued his dominance in the postseason, too, as the Patriots defeated the Houston Texans and Steelers to return to the Super Bowl.
Just two years later, a Super Bowl LI win officially put Belichick ahead of Noll.
Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated
New England and the Atlanta Falcons delivered one of the best games in Super Bowl history, as the Patriots erased a 28–3 deficit to capture Brady and Belichick’s fifth Super Bowl together. Brady threw for 466 yards and was named Super Bowl LI MVP.
2017
2018
Record: 11–5, first in AFC East, won Super Bowl
The Patriots weren’t as talented, nor did they play as well as the teams from 2016 and ’17, but they found a way to add a sixth Lombardi Trophy.
Belichick has 31 career postseason wins, the most by a head coach in NFL history.
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, a 13–3 snoozefest that was nowhere near as exciting as the first time these two teams met in the big game 17 years before.
But Brady and Gronkowski did deliver a memorable moment when the duo connected for a 29-yard completion midway through the fourth quarter to set up the game’s lone touchdown. Edelman recorded 10 catches for 141 yards and was named Super Bowl MVP, one year after tearing his ACL.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore had a dynamic second season in New England and was named a first-team All-Pro. Edge rusher Kyle Van Noy and defensive back Patrick Chung were also instrumental in the defensive success.
2019
2020
Record: 7–9, third in AFC East, no playoffs
With Brady in Tampa Bay, the Patriots missed the postseason for the first time since 2008.
New England surprisingly signed 2015 MVP Cam Newton a few weeks before training camp. Newton didn’t have much trouble beating out Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham for the starting quarterback job. But the Patriots’ offense then ranked among the worst in the league.
Newton threw for only 2,657 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games as the starter. He also added 592 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns. Newton’s leading receiver was Jakobi Meyers, who recorded 59 catches for 729 yards in his second NFL season. Damien Harris had a team-high 691 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
The Patriots went 19 consecutive seasons with a winning record under Belichick ... until 2020.
Erick Rasco/Sports Illustrated
The defense was much better than the offense, with a stout secondary featuring Gilmore, McCourty, Jonathan Jones, Adrian Phillips and J.C. Jackson, (who had nine interceptions that year).
The Patriots faced a four-game losing streak after starting the season 2–1, and also had a three-game losing streak in December.
