Surprise and gratitude in Foxborough after Belichick and Pats part ways

Bill Belichick had a vision of building the kind of sustained championship football team that had rarely been seen before in the NFL when he was hired by the New England Patriots.

He walks away feeling like it was a job well done.

The six-time NFL champion agreed to part ways as the coach of the Patriots, ending his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty of the league’s Super Bowl era.

“It’s with so many fond memories and thoughts that I think about the Patriots,” Belichick said on Thursday in a media availability with owner Robert Kraft. “I’ll always be a Patriot. I look forward to coming back here. But at this time, we’re going to move on. And I look forward, excited for the future.”

Speaking to reporters from the podium where he had given so many terse, non-responsive postgame recaps, Belichick appeared in a jacket and tie and spoke first, followed by Kraft. The coach even smiled a couple of times — including when he conceded respect for the media “even though we don’t always see eye to eye.”

He also thanked the fans for “the sendoffs, the parades, the Sundays.” But most of his time was spent thanking the people throughout the organization, especially the more than 1,000 Patriots players he coached in his time here.

“Players win games in the NFL,” Belichick said. “I’ve been very, very fortunate to coach some of the greatest players to ever play the game.”

Kraft called the relationship a marriage that had required work and had come to an end.

“I’m very proud that our partnership lasted for 24 years,” Kraft said. “Bill has taught me a lot over those years, and we had high expectations for what we could achieve together. I think we were the only ones who had those expectations, and I think it’s safe to say we exceeded them.”

“We did,” Belichick agreed.

“Thanks to you,” Kraft said.

Fans shopping at Patriot Place had their own thoughts about the era-ending drama unfolding inside the adjoining Gillette Stadium.

Some, like Walter Otto from Lincoln, Rhode Island, were ready for the team to changes things up.

"I think after 24 years you needed a new kind of guideline and just a whole new setup [in New England],” he said.

Otto, who had recently switched his football allegiance to the San Francisco 49ers, said he’ll be back to rooting for the Patriots when they start winning again. He also thinks Tom Brady was the ultimate reason behind Belichick’s success.

“When Tom Brady left and he went to the Buccaneers, then he won that Super Bowl. That was just to prove that, you know: ‘I don’t really need Belichick. I could do this on my own if I wanted to.’ And he did.”

Others were sad to see Belichick go.

“I think he deserves another chance,” said Wade Gomes of New Bedford. “I think he deserves to have a couple of losing seasons and still get another chance because of everything he’s done.”

Belichick is the “all time greatest coach in NFL history," he said. "And I think despite some mediocre years, and his GM results have not been the best, his drafting has not been the best, but he’s one of the best.”

WBUR's Simón Rios contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.