Patriots staffers found out about Bill Belichick stepping down on social media

The NFL is a cutthroat business. As Bill Belichick and the Patriots parted ways after 24 years on Thursday, it emerged that some members of the organization found out about the bombshell the same way as the rest of us. “Members of the Patriots’ front office found out about today’s parting of ways with Bill Belichick via social media,” Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald tweeted in the aftermath of the news.

“Longer tenured members of the organization are in shock about today’s decision. A sense of denial that this was actually going to happen.” Hours later, Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft read prepared statements at a press conference. “For me this is a day of gratitude and celebration,” Belichick said.

“We had a vision of building a winner, building a championship football team here. And it exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations — the amount of success we were able to achieve together through a lot of hard work and the contributions of so many people.” He thanked the Kraft family, the Patriots fan base and the more than 1,000 players who were part of the team during a tenure that saw six Super Bowl championships.

“I’ll always be a Patriot,” Belichick added. “I look forward to coming back here, but at this time we are going to move on. I look forward and am excited for the future, but always very, very appreciative of the opportunity, the support here, and, Robert, what you’ve done for me.” Jerod Mayo, the Patriots linebackers coach who formerly played for the team, appears to be the favorite to be Belichick’s successor .

Belichick reportedly intends to continue coaching. The Falcons have been floated as a potential destination, and ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter also cautioned that the team that hires him might actually still have its head coach under contract — and even not to rule out teams that are currently in the playoffs..