Bill Belichick is not known for being a particularly sentimental person, not one who often turns his inner self outward. But at this moment, the big, important, decisive moment, even his voice broke. “I will always be a patriot. I’m looking forward to coming back here. But now it’s time to move on.”
What seemed unthinkable for a long time, almost unnatural, actually happened last Thursday: after 23 years, eleven months and 15 days, the most successful collaboration that has ever existed in the National Football League (NFL) ended. Belichick triumphed in the Super Bowl six times as head coach of the New England Patriots; no other coach has ever won more titles in the strongest football league in the world. But from now on both sides go their separate ways.
