In the eyes of Patriots fans, Bill Belichick is a winner.

Just hours after reports came out Thursday morning that Belichick and Robert Kraft decided to mutually part ways, fans stopped by Gillette Stadium to reflect on how the now former Patriots head coach helped change football culture across the region forever.

Fans expressed a bittersweet feeling that Belichick’s time in Foxboro has come to an end.

A sense of elation and gratefulness for all the successes of the past 24 years –  six Super Bowl championships, 17 division titles and 13 conference championships – but also disappointment that he went out just days after the worst season of his tenure concluded.

Peter Brodeur, a season ticket holder since 1999, traveled from his home in Narragansett, R.I., to soak in the moment inside the Patriots Pro Shop, shortly before Belichick and Kraft made their statements that they’d be separating.

Decked out in Patriots apparel, Brodeur vowed his allegiance to the team will remain strong just like how it did when Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay to quarterback the Buccaneers. No matter where Belichick goes now, Brodeur said he’ll always have a fondness for how the head coach approached the job.

“It will be different not seeing him coaching the team and not seeing him in interviews after the game. It will be missed,” Brodeur said. “He’s going to coach somewhere in the NFL and when he comes back he’ll get a fine ovation and then it will be down to ‘Well, let’s beat him’ because that’s the way it works being a football fan.”

Growing up, Brodeur said he’d visit his grandfather who lived down the road from the stadium near Foxboro Common and they’d spend weekends going to Patriots games.

How did Belichick change football culture here?

“I remember going to games and getting 12 seats in a row for friends at $8 a piece. Now those 12 seats are thousands of dollars combined,” Brodeur said. “He definitely moved the team in the right direction, and the right direction is to be a winning team. He did a fine job with it.”

Fans of all ages expressed an emotional connection to the team, especially those who’ve never known the Patriots without Brady and Belichick.

Hadley resident Brooke Rochon said she wanted to drive out with her mother from their home in western Massachusetts to be around the stadium at the time Belichick and Kraft gave their statements.

“It’s just really sad,” said Rochon, a freshman at Marist College in New York. “I love him as a coach and I think he did everything he could to give us one of the best dynasties that I could grow up with. Being a lifelong Patriots fan I am saddened, I thought he’d retire here.”

Going forward, Rochon said she wishes the best for Belichick, adding she’s not sure who’d make the best next head coach and that Mac Jones should be given a second chance as starting quarterback.

“It’s definitely going to be a huge adjustment,” Rochon said of a post-Belichick era. “I mean he’s been here for so long – and these fans, some of them are here because of Belichick, because of the Brady era. It’s very hard to switch like that, especially losing them one by one, but I think over time it will be a fresh start. Everyone has rebuilding years and these will be ours.”

Football fans and pundits all over the country are now left wondering where Belichick will go from here.The Commanders, Seahawks, Falcons, Chargers, Raiders, Titans and Panthers all have openings.

Brody Massi and his family flew out on a red eye flight from Los Angeles late Wednesday night for a youth hockey tournament in Rhode Island this weekend. The family stopped by TD Garden and Harvard Stadium before trekking down to Foxboro around noon.

Massi couldn’t help but smile when thinking about what the short-term future may hold for Belichick and Chargers, who are without a head coach after they fired Brandon Staley in mid December.

“I would be happy because I think he’s a really good coach – he won six Super Bowls. But I think he needs a good team around him and I think the Chargers have a good team,” Massi said.

Hudson resident Judy Moreria watched Kraft and Belichick’s statements from inside the Pro Shop, in awe that it’s all over for the two. She came out looking to purchase ‘Do Your Job’ sweatshirts for her seven grandchildren.

“It felt like I was going to cry,” Moreira said. “It’s like when one of the kids leaves the nest, going off to better things. You just wonder sometimes why someone puts that much effort and then turns around and says (‘I’m leaving.’) Tom Brady did it to us, too. For him to leave, it’s just another one leaving us after 24 years.”

Patriots fans flocked to the Pro Shop to take in the emotion of Bill Belichick departing New England. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Bill Belichick’s face is seen on TV screens in the ProShop as he announces his departure as head coach of the New England Patriots. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
The coach gets in a workout, circa 2010. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)