‘I will always be a Patriot’ Bill Belichick says

Bill Belichick was known for many things, including how he handled the media during his 24-tenure with the Patriots.

On Thursday morning, the Patriots announced that Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft would both deliver statements to the media. A Patriots spokesperson told the assembled media there would be no questions before the press conference. Instead, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick gave statements confirming the pair have mutually and amicably agreed to part ways.

When Belichick took the podium, he cracked a joke saying he hadn’t seen so many cameras since the Patriots signed Tim Tebow in 2013. The future Hall-of-Fame coach spoke for five minutes about his time with the Patriots.

First Belichick thanked Robert Kraft and confirmed both him and Kraft have mutually agreed to part ways.

“Robert and I, after a series of discussions, have mutually agreed to part ways. For me, this is a day of gratitude and celebration.”

It’s interesting to note both Kraft and Belichick didn’t seem to have any bitterness towards each other; instead, both gentlemen shook hands and delivered their statements next to each other.

Belichick hinted he’d come back to Foxboro as a visitor or assistant coach.

“I’ll always be a Patriot,” he said. “I look forward to coming back here. But now we’re going to move on, and I’m excited for the future. But always very appreciative of the opportunity here, the support here.”

Here is the full transcript of Bill Belichick’s remarks:

“Robert and I after a series of discussions have mutually agreed to part ways. For me this, is a day of gratitude and celebration. Start with Robert and his family. So much thanks for the opportunity to be the head coach here for 24 years. It’s an amazing opportunity, received tremendous support. We had a vision of building a winner, building a championship football team here, and that’s exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations, the amount of success we were able to achieve together through a lot of hard work and contributions of so many people. I’m very proud of that and always have those memories. I’ll carry those with me the rest of my life.”

“Of course, after Robert, thanks to the assistant coaches. I’ve had so many great coaches here. They’ve made my life so much easier. It’s a long list, but the amount of work, preparation and diligence that they do, every one of them, and I say this about the players and the coaches regardless of how long they were here, how many years they were here, how many years they coached or what the position was. It was a great team effort, and everybody put everything they had into it. That’s why we were successful.

“To the coaches, the support staff, it’s an amazing staff here that supported me in every way. All of the scouting, and all of the football support people to the equipment to the training, security, video, operations and so forth, right down that line. Dining room, it’s all first class. It’s all extremely, extremely good. Special thanks to Berj [Najarian] and Nancy [Meyers]. They’ve been here since Day 1 and made my life a lot easier, or I’ve made theirs a lot harder, however you want to look at it. But that’s a big shoutout to them.”

“Of course, a great deal of thanks and appreciation to the players. Players win games in the NFL, and I’ve been very fortunate to coach some of the greatest players who have ever played, some of the greatest players who have ever played for the Patriots. Some of them are already in the hall of fame. Many more are going. Regardless of however long the players were or weren’t here or what their role was or how many games they played or even if they didn’t win championships, I respect the way the players come to work here on a daily basis, all of them that I’ve coached, well over 1,000. But their ability to work, prepare, train in the weight room, train their bodies, meet, rehearse over and over again what we need to do things right to be successful to win, I have so much respect for all of the players, and we’ve had many that have been here for a long time and had great contributions. Too many to name at this time, but great thanks to the players.”

“To the media, to you guys, I don’t know if anyone has got more coverage than I have, we have in the last 24 years. I give you guys a lot of respect, what you do. You’re our voice to the fans. Even thought we don’t always see eye to eye all of the time — most of the time, but not all of the time — I do respect what you do.”

“Finally, to the fans. Fans here are amazing. So many memories of the fans, the send-offs, the parades, the Sundays, whatever the situations are. The letters to support, the seeing the fans away from here at a gas station or grocery store or wherever you bump into them. The Patriots fans here and not just in New England but they extend nationally and even internationally as I’ve traveled. It’s amazing how far the arm reaches. We saw that this year in Germany. So, appreciative of the fans for all of the support they’ve given me, my family, this football team.”

“There are so many fond memories and thoughts that I think about the Patriots. 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, I’m excited for the future but always very, very appreciate of the opportunity here, the support here and Robert, what you’ve done here for me. Thank you.”