Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft have been at each other publicly over the coach's departure from the Patriots after 24 years, but a new report from ESPN reveals that turmoil has been brewing behind the scenes for years. It suggests that.
Seth Wickersham, Wright Thompson, Don Van Natta Jr. co-authored a story that explains the cracks and the spirit Between the Tom Brady-Belichick-Kraft triumvirate and Kraft's son Jonathan.
Tensions have become so severe this season that a “confidant” said Belichick waited a long time to bench struggling quarterback Mac Jones out of frustration with ownership, according to the article. .
A source close to Belichick claimed it was “the worst for you, for Kraft.”
When Belichick approached Jones about trading him in the offseason, the owners objected.
The expectation was that Jones would develop under new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and fulfill the promise he showed as a rookie when Josh McDaniels took over the offense.
Jones regressed in his second year when McDaniels left for the Raiders and failed head coaches Joe Judge and Matt Patricia were foolishly left in charge of the offense.
Instead, Jones ended up enduring three disastrous seasons benched by Bailey Zappe, but suffered a number of humiliating losses and performances.
But even as the team was winning Super Bowl after Super Bowl with Brady, there seemed to be a contest between the towering numbers over accomplishments.
As Brady faces tense contract negotiations with Belichick, the coach presents Kraft with “a detailed study of how even great quarterbacks decline in their mid-30s” and suggests trading up. drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Kraft eventually served as a referee until things came to a head and Brady left for the Buccaneers in free agency in 2020.
Brady won a Super Bowl in his first season in Tampa, but the conflict between Belichick and Kraft naturally intensified over the quarterback's run and the Patriots' own lackluster performance.
Belichick entered this season on a high note, with teams without Brady missing the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.
In recent years, Robert Kraft privately derided Belichick as a “great, intelligent man,” and Jonathan was also said to be dissatisfied with the head coach.
Jonathan Craft reportedly privately said of Belichick at the end of 2022, “That guy has to go. He's done.”
Mr. Belichick, on the other hand, believed the Kraft family was a meddler, reportedly telling aides that he had “eroded the culture that he spent 20 years building.”
