2000 New England Patriots season
OwnerRobert Kraft
Head coachBill Belichick
Home fieldFoxboro Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone
AP All-ProsNone
Uniform

The 2000 season was the New England Patriots' 31st in the National Football League (NFL) and their 41st overall. They finished with a 5–11 record and in last place in the division. It would be the first season the franchise would have involving quarterback Tom Brady. He would play 20 seasons as a Patriot, a franchise record. However, he wasn't given the starting job until next season. This was Tom Brady's only season on a team with a losing record until 2022, and the only time that his team lost twice to the same AFC East team during the regular season.

Following the firing of three-year head coach Pete Carroll in January, Patriots owner Bob Kraft pursued Jets assistant head coach Bill Belichick for the Patriots' head coaching vacancy. Belichick, who had been an assistant coach under Bill Parcells with the Patriots in 1996, followed Parcells to the Jets after that season and was contractually named Parcells' successor. A day after the 1999 season, Parcells resigned as head coach of the Jets and made his second retirement from NFL coaching.[1] Belichick, who had been assistant head coach of the Jets, became the Jets' next head coach. The following day, at a press conference for his hiring, Belichick wrote a resignation note on a sheet of loose-leaf paper ("I resign as HC of the NYJ."[2]), and proceeded to give a half-hour resignation speech to the press.[3] Despite rumors that he had been offered the Patriots' vacant head coaching position, Belichick cited the Jets' uncertain ownership situation following the death of owner Leon Hess earlier that year as the reason for his resignation.[4] The Jets denied Belichick permission to speak with other teams, and as had happened in 1997 with Parcells, the NFL upheld Belichick's contractual obligations to the Jets. Belichick then filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in federal court.[4] After, Parcells and Kraft, talking for the first time since Parcells' resignation from the Patriots, agreed to settle their differences, the Patriots and Jets agreed to a compensation package to allow Belichick to become the Patriots' head coach.[4] With the deal, the Patriots sent their first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft and fourth and seventh-round picks in the 2001 NFL Draft to the Jets, while also receiving the Jets' fifth-round selection in 2001 and seventh-round pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.[4]

Belichick restructured the team's personnel department in the offseason,[5] and later proclaimed that the team "could not win with 40 good players while the other team has 53,"[6] after a number of players showed up out of shape for the start of training camp.[6] The Patriots went on to finish the season 5–11, finishing last in the AFC East and missing the playoffs for the second straight season.

Beginning with this year, Tom Brady would spend 20 years as the Patriots quarterback until signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Coincidentally, the Buccaneers beat the Patriots, 21–16, at Foxboro Stadium in their season opener. This was the only season from 1996 to 2019 where the Patriots finished with a losing record. Belichick would go on the coach the Patriots until 2023, recording a 266–121–0 regular season record, 30–12 playoff record, 17 divisional titles, and 6 Super Bowl titles.

Offseason

On January 27, 2000, the Patriots hired Bill Belichick as their next head coach of team.

2000 NFL draft

Main article: 2000 NFL Draft
2000 New England Patriots Draft Selections
Round Overall Player Position College
2 46 Adrian Klemm Offensive tackle Hawaii
3 76 J. R. Redmond Running back Arizona State
4 127 Greg Robinson-Randall Offensive tackle Michigan State
5 141 Dave Stachelski Tight end Boise State
5[a] 161 Jeff Marriott Defensive tackle Missouri
6 187 Antwan Harris Safety Virginia
6 199 Tom Brady Quarterback Michigan
6 201 David Nugent Defensive end Purdue
7 226 Casey Tisdale Linebacker New Mexico
7 239 Patrick Pass Fullback Georgia
compensatory selection

Undrafted free agents

2000 undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Maurice Anderson Defensive tackle Virginia
Terrance Beadles Guard Arkansas–Pine Bluff
Matt Bumgardner Wide receiver Texas A&M
Adam Davis Guard Oklahoma State
Shockmain Davis Wide receiver Angelo State
Chris Eitzmann Tight end Harvard

Staff

2000 New England Patriots staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Coaching assistants

  • Coaching assistant – Ned Burke
  • Coaching assistant – Brian Daboll

Strength and conditioning

Opening training camp roster

As of the Patriots' first training camp practice at Foxboro Stadium on July 17 (practices at Bryant College started on July 23), they had the NFL maximum of 80 players signed to their roster. The Patriots received four roster exemptions for the NFL Europe allocations of Garrett Johnson, Marc Megna, Sean Morey, and Noel Scarlett. Additionally, the Patriots allocated tackle Ed Ellis to NFL Europe and received a roster exemption for him, but he was released before the start of training camp.

New England Patriots 2000 opening training camp roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
data possibly incomplete


Notations

Week 1 roster

New England Patriots 2000 Week 1 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
data possibly incomplete


Practice squad


Notations

Final roster

New England Patriots 2000 final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Notations

53 active, 12 inactive, 5 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
HOF July 31 vs. San Francisco 49ers W 20–0 1–0 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) Recap
1 August 4 at Detroit Lions W 13–10 2–0 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
2 August 11 at Washington Redskins L 20–30 2–1 FedExField Recap
3 August 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–31 2–2 Foxboro Stadium Recap
4 August 24 Carolina Panthers W 29–21 3–2 Foxboro Stadium Recap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 16–21 0–1 Foxboro Stadium Recap
2 September 11 at New York Jets L 19–20 0–2 Giants Stadium Recap
3 September 17 Minnesota Vikings L 13–21 0–3 Foxboro Stadium Recap
4 September 24 at Miami Dolphins L 3–10 0–4 Pro Player Stadium Recap
5 October 1 at Denver Broncos W 28–19 1–4 Mile High Stadium Recap
6 October 8 Indianapolis Colts W 24–16 2–4 Foxboro Stadium Recap
7 October 15 New York Jets L 17–34 2–5 Foxboro Stadium Recap
8 October 22 at Indianapolis Colts L 23–30 2–6 RCA Dome Recap
9 Bye
10 November 5 Buffalo Bills L 13–16 (OT) 2–7 Foxboro Stadium Recap
11 November 12 at Cleveland Browns L 11–19 2–8 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
12 November 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 16–13 3–8 Foxboro Stadium Recap
13 November 23 at Detroit Lions L 9–34 3–9 Pontiac Silverdome Recap
14 December 4 Kansas City Chiefs W 30–24 4–9 Foxboro Stadium Recap
15 December 10 at Chicago Bears L 17–24 4–10 Soldier Field Recap
16 December 17 at Buffalo Bills W 13–10 (OT) 5–10 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap
17 December 24 Miami Dolphins L 24–27 5–11 Foxboro Stadium Recap

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Miami Dolphins 11 5 0 .688 323 226 W1
(6) Indianapolis Colts 10 6 0 .625 429 326 W3
New York Jets 9 7 0 .563 321 321 L3
Buffalo Bills 8 8 0 .500 315 350 W1
New England Patriots 5 11 0 .313 276 338 L1

Notes

  1. ^ The Patriots' received the St. Louis Rams' fifth-round pick in 2000 as part of a trade for Mike Jones in 1998.[7]

References

  1. ^ Take That! (p. 2) Football Digest. Accessed December 16, 2007.
  2. ^ The Buzz: Bobby's world isn't all bad Archived February 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine The Virginian-Pilot. Accessed December 16, 2007.
  3. ^ McEntegart, Pete (July 28, 2006). "The 10 spot". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d Take That! (p. 3) Football Digest. Accessed December 16, 2007.
  5. ^ "Patriots fire Grier". The Standard-Times (New Bedford). Associated Press. May 2, 2000. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  6. ^ a b Freeman, Mike (July 26, 2000). "PRO FOOTBALL; Belichick Has Patriots' Ears; Now the Hard Part". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  7. ^ "Patriots.com summary". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2007.

External links

New England Patriots
New England Patriots seasons
2000 NFL season
Categories