It’s a minor miracle Bill Belichick has put up with all of the criticism and pushback he’s received related to his relationship with Jordan Hudson. While he has certainly had his moments, he has remained relatively steady despite the constant barrage of critiques.
Perhaps it’s because the former New England Patriots head coach has such a seething resentment against franchise owner Robert Kraft that there isn’t room for anything else.
It’s been approximately 18 months since he and Kraft jointly announced that Belichick’s time with the Patriots was over. After leading the franchise to 17 AFC East titles and nine Super Bowls, winning six of them, the time had come to move on. While the head coach and owner had been at one another’s throats for some time, it appeared that they were both ready to move forward, with Kraft calling Belichick “the greatest coach of all time.”
Then came the time Kraft admitted he “fired” Belichick. Then came the Apple documentary about the Patriots’ dynasty, which many felt portrayed Belichick as the villain. Then came Belichick’s 304-page book, which didn’t mention Kraft once.
Cooler heads appeared to prevail after that. That is, until Kraft appeared on a live taping of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski’s Dudes on Dudes podcast. When asked what was the best decision he ever made as an owner, Kraft roundaboutly said hiring Belichick.
“Well, the one that got questioned the most was in ’99. I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach who had only won a little over 40 percent of his games. But getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston media. But he was with us for 24 years, and we did okay.”
A cheeky way of saying it, but clearly Kraft was admitting that hiring Belichick was the best thing he ever did.
Belichick didn’t hear it that way. Or, at least, he heard the part about how hiring him was a “big risk,” and, much like Michael Jordan in The Last Dance, he took that personally.
Earlier this week, Belichick told ESPN’s Dan Van Natta that it was he who took the big risk accepting the Patriots’ job.
“As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick told ESPN. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation (there) 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. I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.”
The unprompted response to a perception around how Kraft answered the question made Belichick look fairly petty. It also affirmed that the animosity between the two still lingers even if they try to let bygones be bygones.
The whole thing is very reminiscent of the Jerry Jones/Jimmy Johnson Cowboys dynamic, though that one ended much more acrimoniously than Belichick’s time with the Patriots.
As Chad Graff at The Athletic notes, this raises questions about how these two titans will interact with one another in the years ahead. Tom Brady is set to be honored with a statue outside Gillette Stadium. Kraft will be there, but will Belichick? And will Belichick get a statue as well? And what of their eventual Hall of Fame nods? What if they’re honored in the same year?
Perhaps the best thing is for Belichick to be preoccupied with his work at North Carolina and with his headline-making relationship, as any further idle time might lead to further comments or actions that would widen the gulf between these two Patriots legends.