Bill Belichick Fires Back At Patriots Owner Robert Kraft In New ESPN Piece
The Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft feud is alive and well.
Kraft last week generated controversy when, during an appearance on Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski’s “Dudes on Dudes” podcast, he said he took a “big risk” by hiring Belichick as head coach of the New England Patriots in 1999.
“I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach that had only won a little over 40% of his games to get him out,” Kraft said. “I don’t know if there are any Jets fans here. I think getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston area, but he was with us for 24 years.”
Well, we now have a response from Belichick, thanks to ESPN reporter Don Van Natta Jr.
“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 Van Natta for a piece published Wednesday. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”
Belichick revealed that many confidants urged him to remain with the New York Jets, who were set to promote him to head coach.
“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 said. “I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.”
Belichick didn’t identify those who told him to stay with the Jets, nor did he fully detail the “internal obstacles” he faced when joining the Patriots. However, he did touch on the Patriots’ financial and roster issues at the time of his hiring.
“The Jets were a solid team after three years of rebuilding under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC Championship Game appearance in (January) 1999,” Belichick told ESPN. “Meanwhile, the Patriots Organization had dismantled their 1996 AFC Championship team and became one of the worst in the AFC. It didn’t help that they were $10 million over the cap heading into my first season as Head Coach in 2000.”
Belichick added: “I appreciated Robert giving me the opportunity to make those changes and build a program that was consistent with my vision for a championship team.”
Where this feud goes from here is anyone’s guess, but Belichick and his current and former employers will be watched closely in the months ahead.
Belichick is set to enter his first season as head coach of the University of North Carolina, while the Patriots are entering their first campaign under new head coach Mike Vrabel.