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

[FredFromDartmouth]

So Kraft allegedly said he could not "trust" Bill? There are many ways to interpret this and I cannot fault Bill if it is what I think it is. Maybe Kraft was not able to boss Bill around; maybe Bill ignored Kraft's wise, sage football advice; maybe Bill did not do as he was told. Possibly, in which case I have no problem with that on Bill's part. It is not like Bill was embezzling money or sleeping with executives wives.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

While BB is known for benching players when other coaches would let it slide, I can't imagine that he would bench MB in the Super Bowl with no reason. In that scenario RKK would have some indication on why he was benched.

When it comes to loss of trust, I don't think it had anything to do with football per se. BB was out as soon as he started pushing back against RKK in the media when he began talking about the lack of cash spending.

I don’t buy that for one second. Since Brady left the building and the team started to lose, Bill became an excuse machine. It’s well known and well describe by players that Bill played hard ball with them.

When they were winning it was Bill is so smart with how he manage the salary cap not paying aging or mid level player big money and when they started losing he was quick to deflect that to Kraft. Bill was handling contract and the reason they had a lack of cash spending was because it’s what Bill wanted.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

So Kraft allegedly said he could not "trust" Bill? There are many ways to interpret this and some are totally understandable. Maybe Kraft was not able to boss Bill around; maybe Bill ignored Kraft's wise, sage football advice; maybe Bill did not do as he was told. Possibly, in which case I have no problem with that on Bill's part. It is not like Bill was embezzling money or sleeping with executives wives.

So basically what you are saying is that what happened the last 4 years was 100% Bill’s fault since he was ignoring Kraft and did what he wanted

 

[Stu Pidassle]

I don’t buy that for one second. Since Brady left the building and the team started to lose, Bill became an excuse machine. It’s well known and well describe by players that Bill played hard ball with them.

When they were winning it was Bill is so smart with how he manage the salary cap not paying aging or mid level player big money and when they started losing he was quick to deflect that to Kraft. Bill was handling contract and the reason they had a lack of cash spending was because it’s what Bill wanted.

So we don't agree. The question was what did BB do to make RKK think he couldn't trust him, not how you feel about the last few years. At a minimum RKK's actions since BB left is reason to doubt his part of the equation.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

2022? Hhahahaaa So, BB got fired in 2023.

What about 2020. Why didnt your man Thunder fire BB and keep Brady?

There is no way that the Patriots could retain Brady since he did not want to play for team with no WRs and a leaky OL. we can blame Bill for that...or maybe we should blame Kraft.

 

[upstater1]

I don’t buy that for one second. Since Brady left the building and the team started to lose, Bill became an excuse machine. It’s well known and well describe by players that Bill played hard ball with them.

When they were winning it was Bill is so smart with how he manage the salary cap not paying aging or mid level player big money and when they started losing he was quick to deflect that to Kraft. Bill was handling contract and the reason they had a lack of cash spending was because it’s what Bill wanted.

When has Bill ever deflected blame to Kraft?

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think the Malcolm Butler benching started all of it.

I think Kraft was always against certain method Bill use but he trusted Bill that it was all in the name of winning. Butler benching eroded that trust. When the losing started Kraft wasn’t able to put up with it anymore. Winning cures everything.

I think in the « Don’t trust Bill » from Kraft to Blank there is also a component of : « Even if Bill says that he is ok to work with a GM, don’t trust him. When he will in the building he will try to take control ». It’s just my feeling but I think that over the years Bill told sometimes to Kraft what he wanted to hear.

You might be on to something.

After some thought the lack of trust might stem from the lack of transparency on Bill's side. If someone is opaque when asked a question, do you trust that person more or less than someone who is transparent? Nope

I do think Bill wasn't completely forthcoming why he benched Malcolm just as I do think Bill would eventually conduct a palace coup if he was successful in ATL and push Blank to make him czar.

Bill and Tuna are cut from a similar cloth.

 

[palialka]

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.

We’ll get a slight reprieve starting next Thursday as the focus will switch to the draft. That’ll last for 1-2 weeks and then the RK/BB media saga will continue.

This season can’t come soon enough even though I know the Boston media already has their pitchforks sharpened and ready to stab if this team doesn’t start winning right away. They’d like nothing more than this franchise to turn into the Chicago Bears. They’d be 10x happier with that than this team actually winning again.

 

[palialka]

So, do we trust Wikersham's reporting now, or nah???

Nah…Wickersham has a well established personal agenda against the Pats organization.

The roots of his story probably hold some truth, but I have no doubt that he embellished the majority of the story to suit his agenda of painting Kraft in a bad light.

I will say that RK makes himself an easy target. He needs a PR team around him at all times and he really should seriously consider being a “behind the scenes” owner. In fact, Jonathan probably ought to take the reigns.

 

[Triumph]

There is no way that the Patriots could retain Brady since he did not want to play for team with no WRs and a leaky OL. we can blame Bill for that...or maybe we should blame Kraft.

Thunder could have fired BB and kept his son Brady. Then go out and get everything that Brady wanted.

Kraft didnt. He picked BB and now snake oil salesman Bob is rewriting history distancing himself from his decision because it didn't work out.

 

[Triumph]

The truth is never trust Thunder Kraft.

 

[PatsFan2]

I call BS too BB was getting $20Mill a year from RK in the rebuild post Brady that turned disastrous.

 

[condon84]

It makes sense.

Kraft signed off on the Dynasty doc that painted Bill in an awful light. All the anti-BB philosophy they want to do now. Sabotaging BB's hiring would go along with what he's been doing.

This guy might be a bigger ego maniac than Jerry.

 

[ahmed]

Which from 2019 forward have been...?

You look at the entire ownership period though. You don't just cherry pick.

Baseball has 30 teams, so statistically a team wins once every 30 years or so. You could say Red Sox are a financially bigger team than most and therefore should win more often but we have seen plenty less rich teams win. But let's say they should double that and get 2 wins. They have won 4 times since Fenway took over no? They have been good owners by every objective measure.

They own Liverpool FC which I support and while I wish thry would spend more, they have done really well given where we were when they took over.

There are plenty of bad owners in sports, Fenway is one of the better ones by far.

 

[grux]

Sounds like some owners want a head coach to create a family atmosphere and sing kumbaya by a campfire with the players/staff. I am good with how BB handled the team and provided us with 20 years of dominance & 6 super bowls.

 

[mgteich]

Who picked Corky Mac is the question and BB wanted to get rid of him and Kraft would not allow it.

The more Kraft bashes BB the worst Kraft looks.

I disagree.

Picking the only QB left with the hope of improving play compared to Cam Newton was a no-brainer, as almost everyone said at the time.

And Mac performed better than ANY of the top 4 QB's drafted before him. We reached the playoffs.

Josh and Bill did a fine job with what they had.
=============
And THEN, and THEN, and THEN
Josh left and the GM wasn't up to the task, hiring Patricia and Judge to run the Offense, and especially the OL.

I don't know the discussions between the GM and his bosses as he told them his plans after Josh left. However, what I do know is that Year 3 of the Belichick rebuild was an abject failure, and 2023 was just more of the same.
====
If you all think that the GM looked good after his performance in 2022, so be it. I don't see that way.

 

[mgteich]

So basically what you are saying is that what happened the last 4 years was 100% Bill’s fault since he was ignoring Kraft and did what he wanted

The key day was when Bill told Kraft that he was hiring Judge and Patricia to run the Offense. Many GM's would have been fired there and then. Yes, we should blame the Kraft's for not having the balls to act. Instead, he gave his 25-year GM his way. And then, after the total failure of the 2022 season, the Kraft's again did not have the balls to fire the GM.

 

[signbabybrady]

You look at the entire ownership period though. You don't just cherry pick.

Baseball has 30 teams, so statistically a team wins once every 30 years or so. You could say Red Sox are a financially bigger team than most and therefore should win more often but we have seen plenty less rich teams win. But let's say they should double that and get 2 wins. They have won 4 times since Fenway took over no? They have been good owners by every objective measure.

They own Liverpool FC which I support and while I wish thry would spend more, they have done really well given where we were when they took over.

There are plenty of bad owners in sports, Fenway is one of the better ones by far.

But I thought all anyone cared about was what was done without Tom Brady?

 

[ahmed]

But I thought all anyone cared about was what was done without Tom Brady?

Once a coach loses it, you move on just like any player. Does not invalidate what they have done during the entire tenure though. I never said otherwise.

 

[signbabybrady]

Once a coach loses it, you move on just like any player. Does not invalidate what they have done during the entire tenure though. I never said otherwise.

I just found this quote from you to be very interesting since you cherry pick all the time when it comes to Bill.

"You look at the entire ownership period though. You don't just cherry pick."