In a league that often features a rapid turnover in coaches, Bill Belichick was considered a rare constant.
Every year, the Patriots could head into the offseason with the certainty that they at least had their head coach as other teams searched for the right answers. Belichick had been the head coach in New England for 24 years, giving him the longest single-team run of anyone currently in the league.
The Patriots and Belichick will now be resetting the clock. The two sides mutually agreed to a split on Thursday, snapping the longest active run for a coach and organization in the NFL.
During Belichick's New England reign, other teams have gone through a lot. There have been 213 different head coaches hired across the league during his span. Since he coached the Browns (before the organization left for Baltimore and returned in 1999), Cleveland has gone through 12 coaches. The Dolphins and Bills, AFC East foes of the Patriots, have gone through 11 and 10, respectively.
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Who are now the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL? Here's what you need to know.
Longest-tenured NFL head coaches
With the departure of Belichick and the Seahawks moving Pete Carroll from the sideline to the front office means the list of longest-tenured NFL head coaches is going to look quite different in 2024. Carroll had been Seattle's coach for 14 years.
The AFC North is now home to the two longest-tenured head coaches in the league, and three of the top eight.
| Coach | Team | Hired | Years | Record with team |
| Mike Tomlin | Steelers | 2007 | 17 | 173-100-2 |
| John Harbaugh | Ravens | 2008 | 16 | 160-99 |
| Andy Reid | Chiefs | 2013 | 11 | 128-51 |
| Sean McDermott | Bills | 2017 | 7 | 73-41 |
| Sean McVay | Rams | 2017 | 7 | 70-45 |
| Kyle Shanahan | 49ers | 2017 | 7 | 64-51 |
| Matt LaFleur | Packers | 2019 | 5 | 56-27 |
| Zac Taylor | Bengals | 2019 | 5 | 37-44-1 |
It's not easy to stick around with the same team, which is why only eight coaches have been with the same team for at least five seasons. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is the only one without an all-time winning record. Sean McDermott and Matt Lafleur are the only two who haven't been to a Super Bowl. Taylor, McDermott, LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan are the only ones on the list without a Super Bowl victory.
Longest head-coach stints in NFL history
Belichick's run in New England wasn't just the longest in the modern era. It stands as one of the longest in NFL history. Only three coaches stayed with the same team longer than Belichick did with the Patriots.
| Coach | Team | Stint | Years | Record |
| Curly Lambeau | Packers | 1921-49 | 29 | 209-104-21 |
| Tom Landry | Cowboys | 1968-88 | 29 | 250-162-2 |
| Don Shula | Dolphins | 1970-95 | 26 | 257-133-2 |
| Steve Owen | Giants | 1930-53 | 24 | 153-100-17 |
| Bill Belichick | Patriots | 2000-23 | 24 | 266-121 |
Belichick sits in a tie for fourth with Steve Owen, though Owen coached only two games in 1930 as a player-coach, which get added to his overall tenure. Only Curly Lambeau, Tom Landry and Don Shula were with their teams longer than Belichick was with the Patriots.