FOXBORO — Before Patriots owner Robert Kraft began answering questions in the team auditorium at Gillette Stadium, he made it clear that the team would address what’s next soon, but not now.

The Patriots need a new head coach and general manager. But Thursday, a day that Kraft reiterated was a “very emotional day for the organization” and an “end of an era that will be hard to be replicated,” was about the decision to mutually part ways with Bill Belichick.

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Kraft did answer four key questions in the wake of Thursday’s monumental announcement.

Why it was the right time to part ways with Belichick

The Patriots have not won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII during the 2018 playoffs. They went 12-4 in Tom Brady’s last season with the Patriots but lost in the wild-card round to the Titans. The team has a 29-38 record since Brady left in 2020, and they’ve made the playoffs just once, in 2021, when they lost in the wild-card round to the Bills.

“The last three years have been pretty tough,” Kraft said. “I know for our dedicated fans and myself and in life, I just learned that things happen. Our family is the custodian of this asset, the New England Patriots, and we know how important it is to the psyche of the community. What’s gone on here the last three, four years isn’t what we want. We have a responsibility to do what we can to fix it to the best of our ability.”

Why the team did not trade Belichick

Belichick said Monday during his end-of-season press conference that he’s still under contract. Kraft also said Thursday that Belichick still wants to coach.

The Patriots, then, had the option to trade him to another franchise rather than mutually agreeing to part ways.

Kraft didn’t believe that was right in the case of Belichick or Brady.

“I’m fortunate, in our family, our businesses are all private. And so we try to create a culture and develop an environment where people want to stay and stay long term,” Kraft said. “And yeah, I guess if you look at this as a transaction, he is so valuable and how we could extract something from it, I didn’t think that was right. I didn’t think it was right that Tom Brady, who gave us 20 years, and I don’t think it’s right for Bill that, I think, each of them earned the right to be in the position where they should do what’s right for us, given what they have done for this franchise. Some people might criticize me for not extracting as much value, and I understand that. We just try to do what we think is right for the proper values and ability to operate and try to get people who want to come and feel that we’re going to treat them fairly.”

Was there thought to relinquishing Belichick’s personnel duties

Belichick implied Monday that he would be willing to give up his personnel duties to stay as head coach.

Kraft explained why that would be complicated given Belichick’s role on the team for over 20 years, when he had final say over front-office decisions.

“Yeah, we’ve thought about that, but I’ve had experience running different businesses and trying to develop a team, and think about it, when you have someone like Bill who’s had control over every decision, every coach we hire, the organization reports to him on the draft and how much money we spend or what — every decision has been his, and we’ve always supported him,” Kraft said. “To then take some of that power away and give it to someone else, accountability is important to me in every one of our companies, and where he had the responsibility and then someone else takes it, it’s gonna set up confusion. ‘And well, it was his pick, and that was a bad pick,’ you know, or ‘he didn’t play him right’ or you know, it just it wouldn’t work, in my opinion.”

What Patriots are looking for in next head coach

When Kraft began his presser, he said that he knows there are questions about the future and that he’ll cover those in the next few days but, “I’m not sure today is the time to do it.”

He deflected a question when asked if a general manager or head coach would be hired first.

“We will try to move very quickly to solve those issues, and we’ll have a chance to talk about that in the very near future,” he said.

Kraft did answer when asked what the team will be looking for in their next head coach, however.

“We’re looking for someone who can help us get back to the playoffs and win. Believe me, after my family, this is really one of the two most important assets in my life. I am very upset when we don’t win games, and it carries the whole week. I promise you, I’ll be focused to do the best I can do to make sure we’re putting ourselves in the best long-term position to win for many years.”