It shouldn’t matter what Bill Belichick’s interpersonal skills are (or aren’t). It shouldn’t matter that his New England team once got upset by Philadelphia in the Super Bowl. It shouldn’t matter how much the Patriots spiraled after Tom Brady.
New England team owner Robert Kraft should spend the rest of his days expounding on Belichick’s greatness.
Kraft should prioritize his coach of 24 years, and everyone else who helped lead the Patriots to two decades of Super Bowls and glory above all else.
That’s his team. That’s his crew. Those are his people. Or they should be. They not only made Kraft billions of dollars, they made him famous, something he clearly craves and cherishes.
Anyone with a good sense of perspective, loyalty and character would forget the hassle and emphasize the successes. They would do anything for their man.
Instead, the partnership between Kraft and Belichick – once airtight and as thick as thieves – appears to be in smoldering ruins. It once served as the foundation that weathered waves of rivals and storms of controversy to — along with Tom Brady and other players, of course — rule the NFL like no franchise before or since.
Now it’s a soap opera.
The latest comes via a deeply reported ESPN.com story that, citing multiple sources, claims Kraft torpedoed Belichick’s candidacy to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in January. It is alleged that Kraft twice called Falcons owner Arthur Blank to “warn [Blank] not to trust Bill.” The Falcons then hired Raheem Morris.
Kraft denies that, saying through a spokesperson that he was actually “advocating for Bill to get the job.”
ESPN also reported that Kraft spoke privately with Washington principal owner Josh Harris, who didn’t even bother interviewing Belichick for the open Commander job before hiring Dan Quinn.
Belichick is not owed a head coaching job. From his age (72) to his controlling behavior and his post-Brady record, there are plenty of reasons to go in a different direction. That said, how can a guy with 302 regular season wins, 17 division titles and all those rings find only one team, Atlanta, willing to even interview him?
Couldn’t a franchise gain something from hearing Belichick’s thoughts on building an organization? For example, in the ESPN report, Belichick questioned why the Falcons did not offer bonuses for players to train at the facility in the offseason, an important team-building exercise.
But no one besides Blank wanted even such small insights? A bit weird.
If anything, Kraft should have been there to rally support for Belichick. He should have been his hype man. Instead, it appears his loyalty was to his fellow billionaires, and not to the coach who did so much for him and his organization.
This follows the release of a 10-part AppleTV+ docuseries called “The Dynasty,” which repeatedly — like episode after episode — portrayed Belichick in an objectively negative light. How the most talented coach of all time could look anything less than good in a series about the longest streak of success in the league’s history is almost impossible to imagine.
It happened anyway.
The docuseries is copyrighted by “Kraft Dynasty LLC” and viewers quickly noticed how often Kraft was portrayed admirably. Kraft has denied any editorial control and himself criticized the series for focusing too much on scandals rather than Super Bowls.
Still, there was one segment where Kraft expressed his thoughts on the dynamic between Belichick and Brady, as well as Kraft’s disappointment over a painful loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
“Tommy is the greatest in the 100-year history of the game,” Kraft said. “And I think he was a threat to Bill’s full power. He didn’t want Tommy there. And so, when you come to the decision, Brady or Belichick, I thought back to the Eagles Super Bowl. Tommy threw more than 500 meters, but Bill made a huge mistake [in the defensive scheme and not playing cornerback Malcolm Butler]. I credited Bill for that loss.
“To be honest, my head coach is a tough one, but I was willing to put up with it as long as we won.”
Look, you can hate Bill Belichick all you want. You might think he should never coach again. You may think Brady made him great (a ridiculously one-sided opinion, but whatever). None of that matters.
You can’t blame Belichick if he thinks Kraft is out to get him.
It’s been barely three months since the split and Kraft has taken public shots at Belichick on Apple and now, according to ESPN, private shots at other team owners to discourage his hiring.
There were also two “Eagles Super Bowls” for the Patriots. They won the first – XXXIX – in part because the defense turned in three interceptions and four sacks. The docuseries hardly spent any time on that.
A source ESPN said was close to Kraft told the website: “[Kraft] found Bill extremely difficult and stubborn and quite stubborn and ultimately unworthy of his trust. And also very, very, very arrogant.”
All potentially true. So what? Belichick may have been a problem contributor, but he was certainly valuable. As great as Brady was, the coach who designed the game plans, drafted the players and led the staff also played a role in the win.
Without those Super Bowls, the Patriots don’t go from a $174 million purchase in 1994 to an estimated valuation of $6.7 billion today. And Kraft doesn’t change from a rich man who ran a successful packaging company to a relationship with Hollywood celebrities.
Kraft has a lot of money and a lot of power. However, that’s not all in life.
Loyalty is also important. Or should.
Bill Belichick has more than earned that from Robert Kraft.
