The New England Patriots dynasty of the 2000s and 2010s ended unceremoniously. Legendary quarterback Tom Brady departed for Tampa Bay, where he won his seventh Super Bowl, and legendary coach Bill Belichick was moved on from by team owner Robert Kraft after several seasons where the organization seemed mired in mediocrity.
Belichick and Kraft ended things on very rocky terms, but Kraft recently made comments that indicated things were trending up between the two. It would appear that Belichick didn’t get the memo.
Kraft said that his hiring of Belichick was the best move he’d ever made, but Belichick seems to have taken that as a dig of sorts, as he has responded with a thinly veiled dig of his own.
“I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick said, via ESPN. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”
“I had been warned by multiple previous Patriots’ coaches, as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media, that the New England job was going to come with many internal obstacles,” Belichick continued. “I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.”
Fans reacted to Belichick on social media.
“Owners don’t care about any of this crap. They care about money & winning. Belichick is past his prime and was never a very good GM. That’s why he didn’t get hired,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Bill he let you pick 20 horrible wide receivers,” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see if Belichick and Kraft ever mend their relationship.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.