Great article. A few interesting things:
On the Brady decision:
"But Belichick refused to change. He told Kraft that Brady’s play was declining. As painful as it was to say goodbye to Brady, which he did during an in-person chat at Kraft’s home, the owner understood why Brady wanted to leave, and
Kraft trusted his longtime coach that the separation would eventually help the Patriots.
Since Brady’s departure, though, Kraft has grown frustrated as his team, once a model of success, has cratered into one of the NFL’s worst."
On Bill relating to younger modern players:
"Patriots Hall of Famer Kevin Faulk once said he walked past Belichick in the hallways for years, greeting him every day without so much as a “Hello” in return. Players seldom hear flattering remarks from their coach. “He definitely serves a lot of humble pie,” safety Jabrill Peppers said. “He don’t praise nobody,” linebacker Mack Wilson agreed.
That can make it difficult to relate to young players who join the Patriots, a different generation that wants to understand why the team is doing certain things rather than just being ordered around, one that likes to be complimented and recognized for its hard work."
On Bill's demands of his smaller coaching staff:
"Given the small size, Belichick demands more from his staff. The group went to Las Vegas last January to coach one of the teams at the Shrine Bowl, a pre-draft showcase game for college prospects. Arthur Smith’s Atlanta Falcons staff was in charge of the other team. Smith worked his assistants hard during the day but allowed them time off to have fun and get to know each other at night. Belichick took a different approach. His staff spent 12 hours a day preparing for the game. Then, once that work was done, they spent their nights studying for the coming NFL season — seven months away."
On Bill's paltry results in drafts:
"His draft classes have long struggled. Astoundingly, Belichick hasn’t re-signed a player he drafted in the first three rounds since
2013 (Duron Harmon). In 2022, he chose a left guard in the first round who was seen by most experts as a third-round pick at best, then in the second round chose a wide receiver (Tyquan Thornton) who can already be labeled a bust. His 2021 first-round pick (Jones) has been benched, and his first-round pick in 2019 (N’Keal Harry) was such a bust that he was off the team three years later.
That caused Kraft to up the pressure on Belichick in the spring of 2021, bemoaning the results of his recent draft classes and insisting on improvement. “If you want to have a good, consistent, winning football team, you can’t do it in free agency,” Kraft said. “You have to do it through the draft.”
On Bill's formula for 2023 season:
"Instead, Belichick has sought to win by zigging when everyone else zags. He planned to win this season with defense and special teams, investing more resources into special teams than any other coach in the league (the Patriots have
seven players on their 53-man roster solely dedicated to the unit). Yet, they rank last in the NFL in field goal percentage, 31st in yards per punt return and 23rd in net yards per punt."
On Bill pushing back from Kraft's recent critiques:
"Belichick, for his part, seemed to begin playing his own games through the media from that point on. He praised several other ownership groups and the facilities of several other teams while conspicuously refraining from praising the Krafts and the renovations they’ve privately funded at Gillette Stadium. Meanwhile, he’s said little publicly about Robert or Jonathan Kraft. His only comments about the $250 million renovation the Krafts completed this year were about how the bigger video board might affect wind patterns for the kickers.
In August, just before Kraft found out he hadn’t been selected for the Hall of Fame, Belichick was given a chance to publicly back the candidacy of the guy who signs his paychecks. It was a softball of a question, but Belichick was brief in his answer.
“Keeping our fingers crossed that we get the vote this year,” he said.
On Kraft's disappointment with this season:
"But five years after that last Super Bowl, the Patriots are a shell of their once-dominant selves. By the two-minute warning of that Week 15 game against the Chiefs, another double-digit loss was already decided.
Fans headed out for an early exit. Kraft did, too. He got up from his usual seat next to Jonathan and looked around. Visiting fans were filling the lower bowl to cheer on their team. Kraft looked at Jonathan and the two got up to leave.
There was no point in watching this any longer."
