Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick Are Nothing Without Tom Brady

By Steve Atkinson 

The ongoing back-and-forth between Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick is nothing short of petty. They seem to be arguing about who was more important during their 24-year collaboration, while overlooking the most crucial figure in their success: Tom Brady. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 draft, Brady became the greatest quarterback of all time. After he left New England and went on to win a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, everything fell apart for the Patriots. Kraft and Belichick are focused on determining who comes in second place, but ultimately, who cares? Both of their successes are largely due to Tom Brady, and deep down, they know it. Unfortunately, their egos are getting in the way once again.

The latest feud between these two is when Kraft hired Belichick in 2000 and how much of a risk it was.

The one that got questioned the most was in 1999,” Kraft said on the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast co-hosted by Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski last month at Fanatics Fest.

“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.“

Here is how Bill Belichick responded

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 ESPN in response to questions. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.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.”

Brady Is Mostly The Reason For Belichick’s and Kraft’s Success

What both of them fail to mention is that they struck gold with the Brady pick. The defense was already strong when Belichick arrived in New England; they just needed a quarterback. Do we really have to revisit what happened after 2020? Both parties share the blame. Kraft should have sided with Brady instead of Belichick, and Belichick should have set aside his pride and given Brady the contract he deserved. Instead, Tom went to Tampa and won the Super Bowl, while the Patriots went 7-9 with Cam Newton.

Then, Kraft drafted Mac Jones, and Belichick practically undermined him after his rookie season. Kraft went behind Belichick’s back to give Jerod Mayo a contract extension, making him the head coach in waiting. This didn’t sit well with Belichick, who essentially threw away the 2023 season. Kraft hired Mayo for PR reasons, likely to circumvent the Rooney Rule, and provided him with zero support. As a result, they drafted Drake Maye, fired Mayo immediately after the season ended, and then hired Vrabel and McDaniels, which should have been done before the 2024 season.

Overall, Kraft and Belichick need to put an end to their ongoing bickering. It doesn’t matter who comes in second; neither of them would be where they are today without the stroke of luck that was Tom Brady..