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Speaker 1: Thank you Bill. Good afternoon everyone, And as Bill mentioned yesterday,

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Speaker 1: we met and mutually agreed to part ways amicably and

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Speaker 1: like a good marriage. A successful head coach owner a

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Speaker 1: relationship requires a lot of hard work, and I'm very

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Speaker 1: proud that our partnership lasted for twenty four years. I

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Speaker 1: don't think in the NFL there's been any other partnership

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Speaker 1: that lasted longer and has been as productive as ours.

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Speaker 1: I trusted my instincts to bring Bill back to New

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Speaker 1: England in two thousand, after immediately regretting not hiring after

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Speaker 1: working with him together in nineteen ninety six. When I

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Speaker 1: did hire them, I was still making the transition from

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Speaker 1: the fan who bought season tickets in seventy one, sitting

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Speaker 1: on the metal benches in the old Foxborough Stadium with

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Speaker 1: my boys, to try to become an experienced owner. Bill

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Speaker 1: has taught me a lot over those years, and we

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Speaker 1: had high expectations for what we could achieve together. I

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Speaker 1: think we were the only ones who had those expectations,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's I think it's safe to say

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Speaker 1: we exceeded them thanks to you. It's hard to put

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Speaker 1: into words, really when I think back to sitting on

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Speaker 1: those metal benches, and that we'd have an opportunity to

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Speaker 1: go to ten Super Bowls together and bring six Lombardi

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Speaker 1: Trophies home to Massachusetts. At heart, I will always be

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Speaker 1: a sentimental sports fan, so this is a very emotional

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Speaker 1: day for me. Some of my happiest and most memorable

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Speaker 1: moments were celebrated with my family during Bill's tenure here.

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Speaker 1: I recognize that it also is a very emotional day

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Speaker 1: for many of our fans and most of our fans,

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Speaker 1: as it represents the end of an era, one that

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Speaker 1: hopefully will always be celebrated in this region. The man

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Speaker 1: standing to my left brought the leadership and coaching skills

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Speaker 1: that were needed to make this type of unprecedented success

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Speaker 1: that we have had possible. Coach Belichick will forever be

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Speaker 1: celebrated as a legendary sports icon here in New England,

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Speaker 1: and I believe go in as a Pro Football Hall

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Speaker 1: of Famer on the first ballot. Why because he is

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Speaker 1: the greatest coach of all times, which makes this decision

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Speaker 1: to part ways so hard. But this is a move

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Speaker 1: that we mutually agreed that is needed at this time.

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Speaker 1: What Bill accomplished with us, in my opinion, will never

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Speaker 1: be replicated, and the fact that it was done in

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Speaker 1: the salary cap and free agency era makes it even

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Speaker 1: more extraordinary. I thank Coach Bill for his hard work

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Speaker 1: and dedication. It'll be difficult to see him in a

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Speaker 1: cutoff hoodie on the sideline, but I will always continue

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Speaker 1: to wish him continued success, except when he's playing our

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Speaker 1: beloved Patriots. So I thank you all for coming here

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Speaker 1: today and being part of this celebration. Thank you. Thanks Vor.

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Speaker 1: He's got a cold, so I'm not gonna kiss him.

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Speaker 1: Thank you.