'Voted off the island': Inside Bill Belichick's failed job hunt (ESPN report)

borisman · Apr 17, 2024

Why didn't Kraft have this kind of vitriol for the NFL/Goodell when they bent over the franchise on a couple of occasions, including suspending Tommy Boy?

upstater1 · Apr 17, 2024

I love this quote: The sources said Kraft made clear to Blank that "you'll never have a warm conversation with" Belichick

Kraft wants to buddy up and have dinners with his employees, especially the coaches and QBs. Maybe invite a couple rappers and DJs to dinner with them.

Stacey James looks like a stooge too, but I guess that's his job. Kraft would have fired Belichick if he didn't believe in him? Um... Kraft just got done telling us in the Dynasty that he would've fired Belichick not only in 2001 if they hadn't won, but also in 2018!!!

Brotherblues · Apr 17, 2024

sb1 said:
I also call BS on this report. "Warn him not to trust Bill?" What does that even mean?

The simplest explanation is usually the right one. Most likely BB was not as close to landing the Falcons job as people thought he was for a few reasons including age and the collapse of the Patriots post Brady under his watch and that's the way it is.

In this case I think both sides hold water.

It's no secret Kraft resents Bill, big time. It's not even debatable at this point. Anyone who calls Kraft privately for a BB reference is going to get an earful of bitterness.

On the other hand, it's also not hard to imagine teams passing on him based mostly on his performance from 2019-2023.

Both things can be true (and imo both likely are).

signbabybrady · Apr 17, 2024

Steve102 said:
I dunno man. I think there's some real butthurtness down on Rte 1. I think Bill's stranglehold on everything at Patriot Place made a difficult workplace, but it was tolerated because they won. When they didn't win post-Brady, it seems it just became toxic. I think Kraft resents Bill for the Brady thing, the 4th sone or whatever the hell they called him. I think Kraft's continued love affair with his QBs; Drew to Tom to Mac, is a little on the fanboy side, and I think Kraft really just got sick of Bill's ****. I don't think they'll be going out to dinner anytime soon. I don't want to believe it, either, but a lot of the wickerSHAM **** proved to be true, so this probably has a level of merit to it. Like all things, the truth is probably in the middle somewhere. That doesn't change the fact that the Kraft seemingly never liked Bill all along, but was a means to an end.

None of it is a good look for the team IMO. The owner should just STFU and not be blackballing Bill. With that, I don't think that anyone is going to hire Bill and all that he brings. No GM is going to sign off on it, no one is going to embrace his culture at this point in 2024, with the entitlement that young athletes have coming into the league. I feel he's coached his last game in the NFL.

There's definitely some smelly things in the air down at Gillette but I just don't think this story makes much sense. Why would Kraft hurt is own legacy and his own wallet just to give Blank an opinion that also doesn't make sense (Don't hire someone who can help you win 6 and get to 9 because he's liar). Sorry like most journalism my first instinct is that this is probably fake news. I just don't trust them.

rkarp1 · Apr 17, 2024

Kraft and Blank are business partners. Kraft gave him an honest answer. It may not be an answer that some fans want to hear, or want to believe is true, but I have to believe if any team wanted to hire Bill, they would have, regardless of what Kraft said or not.
there might be some interesting opening in 2025. Giants. Jets. Bills. Dallas.

upstater1 · Apr 17, 2024

Brotherblues said:
In this case I think both sides hold water.

It's no secret Kraft resents Bill, big time. It's not even debatable at this point. Anyone who calls Kraft privately for a BB reference is going to get an earful of bitterness.

On the other hand, it's also not hard to imagine teams passing on him based mostly on his performance from 2019-2023.

Both things can be true (and imo both likely are).

2019?

Steve102 · Apr 17, 2024

signbabybrady said:
There's definitely some smelly things in the air down at Gillette but I just don't think this story makes much sense. Why would Kraft hurt is own legacy and his own wallet just to give Blank an opinion that also doesn't make sense (Don't hire someone who can help you win 6 and get to 9 because he's liar). Sorry like most journalism my first instinct is that this is probably fake news. I just don't trust them.

The more I sit here and think about it, this could be a Bill's camp leak, designed to make Kraft look bad.

I dunno man. I don't like any of it. My favorite team gave us so much, but all this **** makes me feel... dirty. Like I need a shower.

signbabybrady · Apr 17, 2024

Let's put it this way: Kraft chose Bill over Brady following 2018 and now after firing Bill and admitting he got it wrong he's also going to trash Bill in league circles too. Either Kraft is a clown or the story doesn't make sense (I suppose both can be true).

signbabybrady · Apr 17, 2024

Steve102 said:
The more I sit here and think about it, this could be a Bill's camp leak, designed to make Kraft look bad.

I dunno man. I don't like any of it. My favorite team gave us so much, but all this **** makes me feel... dirty. Like I need a shower.

When something makes me feel dirty like this I compare it to the past and who has made me feel more dirty Kraft, Bill, or the media. This one stinks of a clickbait story to me. The Bill v Brady debate is starting to die down so let's put out another angle.

mike_usagisan · Apr 17, 2024

signbabybrady said:
The Bill v Brady debate is starting to die down so let's put out another angle.

Unfortunately, I think the Kraft vs. Bill story is going to be here for a while until the Pats give the media something else to talk about.

signbabybrady · Apr 17, 2024

mike_usagisan said:
Unfortunately, I think the Kraft vs. Bill story is going to be here for a while until the Pats give the media something else to talk about.

Unfortunately, I agree.

RDS11 · Apr 17, 2024

Well, the article also states that Belichick wasn't even top-3 in the Falcons search, according to the other members of the Falcons organization who had a say in the decision beside Blank. So Belichick not getting the Falcons job isn't all on Kraft.

But something is not adding up : we have heard a number of times that Kraft is cheap, so it was in Kraft's best interest that Belichick find another job in order to offset part, if not all, of Belichick's $25M salary for 2024. Yet we're supposed to believe Kraft tried to blackball Belichick from getting another job and he's fine with absorbing the $25M in full ? So Kraft is cheap or not ?

203Pat · Apr 17, 2024

If this is true we shouldn't expect a statue any time soon.

1960Pats · Apr 17, 2024

turkeyneck said:
SpongeBob immolated any benefit of the doubt in such cases by his behavior in FilmingGate and DeflateGate. He showed that if it's a choice between being a good water boy for the OG billionaires' club and standing by his own people, well, you know ...

Sad but true.

I wonder what Kraft's gambling site has for an over/under for Pats wins.

borg · Apr 17, 2024

Bob's Neville Chamberlain vibe is flaring again.

signbabybrady · Apr 17, 2024

203Pat said:
If this is true we shouldn't expect a statue any time soon.

So Kraft has already denied the truth of this story?

Tunescribe · Apr 17, 2024

lancerman said:
Let's be real, Modell called Kraft and told him not to get Bill. Kraft ignored it.

Regardless of whatever Kraft said, the whole league passed on Bill this go around. If they thought they had a better shot with him, they wouldn't care what Kraft said, if he said anything. Bill's performance the last few years is the biggest issue right now.

Not Bill's coaching performance but his GM performance, which essentially negated the former. Being 72 is a huge factor against his getting another coaching job, unfortunately. That, and willingness to just coach and let someone else call shots on the roster.

If BB wants to be involved with an NFL team, an ideal arrangement would be as advisor/mentor to a young coach he likes and who trusts his judgment.

Lagaffe_07 · Apr 17, 2024

I think it’s just BB camp that try to save face because he couldn’t get a job. Better people believing that it is Kraft that sabotage him instead of him not being that attractive of a candidate a 72 and after the debacle of the last 2 years.

I don’t understand what Kraft has to gain by doing something like that. Better for his brand to let him go to the Falcons and be fired in 2 years with a losing record.

upstater1 · Apr 17, 2024

RDS11 said:
Well, the article also states that Belichick wasn't even top-3 in the Falcons search, according to the other members of the Falcons organization who had a say in the decision beside Blank. So Belichick not getting the Falcons job isn't all on Kraft.

But something is not adding up : we have heard a number of times that Kraft is cheap, so it was in Kraft's best interest that Belichick find another job in order to offset part, if not all, of Belichick's $25M salary for 2024. Yet we're supposed to believe Kraft tried to blackball Belichick from getting another job and he's fine with absorbing the $25M in full ? So Kraft is cheap or not ?

There's a lot of contradiction in that article.

From a quote that Bill was told by the Falcons "the job is yours" to the courtesy call. From Belichick wasn't in the top rankings to he was Arthur Blank's man.

The yacht trip to Antigua, the home dinner, then the meetings with staff later in the week have me thinking he was blackballed. Too much work for him to be that low. Especially when Slowik only had one meeting.

Also, they were stunned by the "range of Morris's depth and knowledge about football and strategy." Um, youre not impressed by Belichick (when they were discussing strategy) but you're blown away by Morris? This is the sort of thing you say to the media when you hire Morris (when it's understood you would say that) but not something you would say on background.

There are a lot of contradictions in that article. That being said, when I see Slowik ranked ahead of Belichick, I can't take that seriously as an assessment when there are other factors involved. if I did, I could only assume that Atlanta is a bigger clown show than Carolina, and then I'd think you have 4 franchises in the NFC South run by absolute idiots.

FreeTedWilliams · Apr 17, 2024

Let’s see how far down the drain Kraft runs this franchise.

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