Twenty-four seasons together; zero mentions.
Any questions about where the relationship stands between ex-Patriots coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft have been firmly answered in the form of Belichick reportedly not mentioning the owner in his upcoming book, “The Art of Winning,” according to The Boston Globe.
“Bill’s exhaustive ‘Acknowledgements’ section features a nice shout-out to wingman Berj Najarian, plus, ‘Thank you to my idea mill and creative muse, Jordon Hudson,’ but no mention of Robert K. Kraft,” Dan Shaughnessy wrote Friday morning.
“There are 363 people thanked, including Malcolm Butler. Incredibly, Butler’s name is not mentioned in the chapter devoted to ‘Mistakes.’”
Kraft and Belichick parted ways after the 2023 season in what had been labeled a mutual decision, but it seems we can classify their split as a “messy divorce” if Belichick elected not to mention the owner, with whom he partnered to win six Super Bowls in Foxborough.
The two played nice at the time of Belichick’s farewell in January 2024, but this certainly adds to the notion that Belichick was forced out, and it wasn’t exactly a mutual call.
Shaugnessy noted there is a passage where Belichick refers to “they” and “them” when discussing the “Patriots way” mantra, which seemingly is the only reference to the Kraft family in the book.
The parties reportedly felt the other received too much praise for the dynasty.
“The strained relationship grew fully toxic in its later years and everything we’ve witnessed since the day,” Shaughnessy wrote of Belichick and Kraft’s feud. “Bill was politely fired is evidence that the dislike is real. Somewhere, in the middle of all that winning, it became about who gets the credit and who gets the blame, and fans are left to slice up their credit/blame pie accordingly.”
Ever since the “mutual” parting, events have seemingly pushed the two further apart.
Kraft reportedly warned Falcons owner Arthur Blank “not to trust Bill,” and played a “big part” in why Atlanta instead hired a previous coaching flop in Raheem Morris before the 2024 season, per ESPN.
AppleTV+’s “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” documentary also did not shine Belichick in the best light despite all the team’s sucess.
The documentary listed “Kraft Dynasty LLC 2024” as the copyright holder.
Kraft did speak highly of Belichick at Tom Brady’s roast, but what someone says publicly doesn’t always indicate their true beliefs.
Patriots great Julian Edelman noted the tension between the two at the event could have “cut f–king glass.”
Time will tell if either gets the last laugh since they are both now trying to return to their title-winning days, albeit in different levels of the game.
The Patriots did not fare well in their first season after moving on from Belichick, with Jerod Mayo being fired after a 4-13 season and Mike Vrabel being hired as his replacement.
Belichick did not coach in 2024 but will return to the sidelines in 2025, except he’ll be doing so as a first-time college head coach for North Carolina.
His book will be released on May 6.
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