Rob Gronkowski pays heartfelt tribute to Bill Belichick after Patriots exit

The NFL saw the official end of an era on Thursday, as New England head coach Bill Belichick and their owner, Robert Kraft, held their joint press conference to explain their amicable parting of ways. It marks the finality of one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. Belichick led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, with superstars like tight end Rob Gronkowski being a fixture during his reign in New England. On Thursday afternoon, Gronkowski took to social media to pay a heartfelt tribute to his old head coach.

Thank you Coach Belichick for everything you have done! From taking a chance drafting me in the very beginning to teaching and showing me the way on the field, I wouldn’t change a thing! Honor to be on your team and thank you for putting us players in situations to have serious… pic.twitter.com/m5NYkW4Kwt

— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) January 11, 2024

“Thank you Coach Belichick for everything you have done! From taking a chance drafting me in the very beginning to teaching and showing me the way on the field, I would change a thing! Honor to be on your team and thank you for putting us players in situations to have serious success! Best to do it, Coach!” Gronkowski wrote in his brief tribute.

Rob Gronkowski finished his career as one of the most decorated tight ends in NFL history. He and Tom Brady were one of the most dominant QB-TE duos in league history during their time with the Patriots and their brief stint with the Tampa Bay Bucs. With New England, Gronkowski had four seasons of over 1,000 yards receiving. He also battled a number of injuries throughout his career.

He holds two NFL records for the tight end position: the most total touchdowns in a season by a tight end (18) and the most receiving touchdowns in a single season by a tight end (17). Once he hung up his cleats, he’d won four Super Bowls and was named to five Pro Bowls.

Bill Belichick career notes

During his stint as the Patriots head coach, Belichick won six Super Bowl titles and developed multiple All-Pros, including, most famously, quarterback Tom Brady.

That duo became the face of the NFL for multiple decades as they routinely finished atop the AFC East and made deep runs into the playoffs.

But Bill Belichick’s success with the organization began to decline when Brady left following the 2019 season. Brady, meanwhile, would go on to win a Super Bowl with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England went 7-9 the season after Brady departed, then managed to improve to 10-7 the following year in 2021. But neither season included an AFC East title and 2021’s playoff appearance ended in an exit in the Wild Card round.

Then the wheels began to fall off.

New England went 8-9 in 2022 but finished just 4-13 in 2023. Worse, the organization didn’t seem to have much positive momentum heading into the offseason.

So the organization made a change.

But nothing will take away from one of the greatest coaching runs in college football history. Even before Bill Belichick’s ouster his players were speaking out on his behalf.

One of the most recent to join the team, running back Ezekiel Elliott opened up on what playing for Belichick was like.

“I just feel so very lucky,” Elliott said, according to Boston.com. “So very lucky to play for the best coach ever. And you can tell just by the way he attacks every day, the way he demands excellence from everyone and everything you do, from top to bottom. I mean, he just loves to coach and you’re going to be coached up. So I’m very appreciative to be able to play for him. … I was expecting a great coach, and that’s what he was.

“I didn’t expect him to be as sarcastic, as funny — the way he coaches me. He’s gonna get on you, but he’ll build you up too at the same time and that’s what we all need and want as football players.”

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp also contributed to this article.