Celebrate Bill Belichick’s Birthday With These Classic Patriots Photos

April 16 is an important day for the New England Patriots.

Not only does it mark the anniversary of New England selecting Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, effectively jump-starting the next great sports dynasty. It’s also Bill Belichick’s birthday.

The Patriots coach turned 68 years old Thursday, and the team first celebrated the occasion with a simple social media shout-out.

The party was just getting started, though, as the team followed up a short time later by tweeting out a photo gallery featuring some classic pics from Belichick over the years.

Belichick, who took over as New England’s head coach before the 2000 season, is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, overseeing six Super Bowl titles during his time with the Patriots.

He’ll face a tougher challenge than usual this season, his first without Brady, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, but that’s neither here nor there. Let’s just enjoy the moment.

Then again, sitting back and relaxing would go against that whole “no days off” policy. So, we’ll just assume Belichick is somewhere working hard in preparation for next week’s draft.

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