In the week leading up to his College Football debut at the University of North Carolina, former Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick took a jab at former boss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Kraft's son, Jonathan, the President of the New England Patriots. Belichick in an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe was comparing his environment in his new role versus his experience at the pro level with the Patriots.
“It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view... It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way.” Innocuous enough comment, but he added: “There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son... There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing... which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level.”
This is the latest response in an ongoing spat since Kraft labelled his hiring of Belichick "a big risk" in July. Which, I don't think is an unfair assessment of the hire at the time. Bill's record as a Head Coach in Cleveland wasn't anything spectacular, winning 45% of games, and making the playoffs once in five seasons. He performed well as a Defensive Coordinator in New York with the Giants winning two Lombardi trophies, with hall of fame Head Coach Bill Parcells. With that said, I think the statement Kraft made was fine, it was a risk hiring an unproven NFL Head Coach, regardless of his achievements at the Coordinator role. Our own Josh McDaniels is a perfect example of that.
Belichick in his latest book which in his own words acts as a tell all of his life lessons in football omits any mention of Robert Kraft, not even an acknowledgement. Belichick defended the omission by stating it was a book that reflected on his experiences in his football career. Hard to imagine the owner of the football team you coached and won a record tying number of championships with wasn't a large part of your experience as a coach for 24 years.
The back-and-forth, tit-for-tat, insults and jabs serves no one. In fact, it damages the reputation of both men among Patriots fans, as many pick a side. I won't pick a side, and I can appreciate the tremendous good and enormous value both added to the organisation, the city of Boston, the greater New England area, and the sport as a whole.
The relationship between what I consider two great men and bastions of excellence and success of the New England Patriots is a terrible shame, and a sad ending to the two-decade dynasty they both built alongside the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. Brady received an impressive statue outside Patriots' Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts which was unveiled before the Patriots 2025 preseason opener against the Washington Commanders. It is becoming harder and harder to see an opportunity for Bill Belichick to receive the same honour, and you would be a delusional fool to believe he does not deserve it.
But Bill seems happy as he embarks on a new challenge at Chapel Hill and is freed from ownership tussles and the NFL cap. "It's a lot of football." I, like many Patriot fans, will be watching attentively to see how Bill and his UNC football team fares in the 2025 CFB season.