Inside the Belichick-Kraft breakup: Beyond the losses, there were little moments that signaled the end was near
Kraft and Belichick teamed up to win six Super Bowls over 24 seasons. Here's how their professional relationship ran its course.
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Basically BB was a lame duck coach for the yr and Mayo was likely Curran's source.As a result, the latitude Kraft afforded Belichick has slowly eroded since Brady's departure, with one notable example coming last offseason when the team announced that top defensive assistant Jerod Mayo was negotiating a contract to remain with the franchise long term.
Multiple sources familiar with Belichick's thinking relayed that he was uneasy with Kraft empowering Mayo that way -- positioning him as the heir apparent and creating a dynamic that potentially undercut Belichick's authority and team culture.
Team sources described the relationship between Belichick and Mayo -- a 2008 first-round pick of the franchise, whom Belichick had recruited to the coaching staff in 2019 -- as more distant this season than it had previously been.