This is seriously the weirdest week ever in football. Of course, it’s always common when a season ends for lots of NFL and college football news to break. Teams that didn’t have a good season usually start swatting out people like flies. But, this week has been exceptionally weird and packed with lots of football news. Perhaps the biggest of that news broke Thursday morning (Jan. 11). Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are parting ways, as they’ve “mutually agreed” to end their relationship after 24 seasons, according to NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Over the past 24 seasons with Patriots, Belichick led the team to an incredible line of success. The New England Patriots won an incredible six Super Bowls under his leadership, as well as nine Super Bowl appearances. During his time with the Patriots, the Patriots “compiled a 266-120 regular-season record and won 17 AFC East titles — including 11 straight from 2009-2019, the longest streak in NFL history,” according to NFL.com. Those 17 division titles are “the most ever by any head coach with a single club,” reports NFL.com, and five better than the next closest, which is Tom Landry at 12. As head coach for the Patriots, he’s won 296 games, including playoffs. That’s the second-most by any head coach with a single franchise in NFL history, only behind George Halas with the Bears at 324.

While most of Belichick’s time with the Patriots was incredibly good, this past season was not. It was actually the absolute worst season in Belichick’s career, ending with a 4-13 record in 2023. They weren’t even close to making the playoffs. That said, it really doesn’t dampen Belichick’s legacy. One day, he’ll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but for now, we wait to see if his coaching days are really over or not. Now that he’s available, there’s a good chance another NFL team will be interested in bringing him on. He’ll certainly be a strong candidate for any of the many NFL jobs opening for the next season. According to Rapoport, Belichick could resurface as the the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach. While other opportunities are out there, that seems to be the biggest for him, so far.

So, who will replace Bill Belichick? Many people think Patriots defensive coordinator Jerod Mayo could get the job. He’s “seen as the top in-house candidate for New England,” according to Rapoport.

Fans are taking to social media to pay their respects to Belichick. That actually sounds weird, “pay their respects.” It’s not like the guy is dead. But, you get what I mean. Many fans are saying he’s the “goat.” It’s true. Some of them are even placing the blame of last season’s failure on other facts, for example, saying he needs a team with a set quarterback.

This week has been crazy when it comes to football news. The Seattle Seahawks and Pete Carroll shockingly parted ways on Wednesday (Jan. 10), which I think it nuts. Also, longtime Alabama coach Nick Saban also retired on Wednesday. This is a bit too much drama, if you ask me, but it will make for some exciting football next season.