Belichick menembaki Kraft karena mengatakan Patriots mengambil 'risiko besar' dalam mempekerjakannya
Bill Belichick is pushing back on some recent comments made by Robert Kraft. After the Patriots’ owner said that he took a “big risk” in hiring Belichick to be the team’s head coach in 2000, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach believes he also took a big risk in accepting an offer to become the team’s head coach.
“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. “I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”
The Patriots went through an unconventional process to hire Belichick in 2000. When they requested that the Jets allow them to interview Belichick that offseason, Bill Parcells stepped down from his post as New York’s head coach and named the then-assistant head coach and defensive coordinator as his successor. However, Belichick resigned as the Jets’ head coach a day later and eventually agreed to a deal to become the Patriots’ head coach, but New England had to surrender a first-round pick to New York.
Due to the compensation, along with Belichick’s 36-44 record in his five seasons as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach, Kraft recently told the “Dudes on Dudes” podcast (hosted by former Patriots stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski) that hiring Belichick was his most “questioned” decision since he became the team’s owner in 1994. But he also mentioned Belichick’s hiring when asked what his best decision has been as the Patriots’ owner.
“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 on the podcast, which was filmed at “Fanatics Fest” in New York last month. “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.
“And we did OK,” Kraft joked.
While the Patriots won their first of six Super Bowls in Belichick’s second season with the team, New England’s former head coach indicated that New York was in a stronger on-field position at the time of his hiring in 2000.
“The Jets were a solid team after three years of rebuilding under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC Championship Game appearance in [January] 1999, “Belichick mengatakan kepada ESPN.” Sementara itu, organisasi Patriot telah membongkar tim kejuaraan AFC 1996 mereka dan menjadi salah satu yang terburuk di AFC. Itu tidak membantu bahwa mereka adalah $ 10 juta di atas topi menuju musim pertama saya sebagai pelatih kepala pada tahun 2000. “
Bill Belichick dan Robert Kraft memenangkan enam Super Bowl bersama. (Foto oleh Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Meskipun Belichick dan Kraft menikmati kesuksesan yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya dalam 24 tahun mereka bersama, telah ada beberapa ketegangan di antara keduanya sejak pelatih kepala dilepaskan pada Januari 2024. Di Apple TV+ Docuseries “Dinasti,” yang mencakup menjalankan dinasti Patriot, Kraft menyebut Belichick sebagai “rasa sakit di Tush.” Banyak yang juga percaya bahwa dokumen itu melukis Kraft secara positif, dengan mantan pemain mengkritiknya karena terlalu negatif di Belichick.
Dalam offseason yang sama, ESPN melaporkan bahwa Kraft memperingatkan pemilik Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank “untuk tidak mempercayai” Belichick ketika tim mewawancarai mantan pelatih kepala Patriot untuk peran yang sama. Menambah ketegangan, Kraft memberi tahu “The Breakfast Club” Pada Oktober 2024 bahwa ia telah memecat Belichick. Sebelum pengakuan itu, tim mengatakan bahwa Kraft dan Belichick saling setuju untuk berpisah.
Belichick, yang sejak itu telah disewa oleh North Carolina untuk menjadi pelatih kepala, sebagian besar telah menghindari secara langsung membahas pernyataan Kraft sejak ia dilepaskan sebagai pelatih kepala Patriot. Dia belum secara terbuka mengomentari laporan bahwa Kraft memengaruhi Falcons untuk tidak mempekerjakannya. Tetapi dia membuat lelucon tentang bagaimana dia digambarkan dalam “Dinasti” selama daging panggang Tom Brady pada Mei 2024 dan telah mempertanyakan klaim Kraft bahwa para Patriot memecatnya.
“Itu adalah keputusan bersama bagi kami untuk berpisah,” Belichick memberi tahu CBS News pada bulan April.
Belichick juga menghina Kraft dalam bukunya yang terbarunya, “The Art of Winning: Lesson From My Life in Football,” gagal menyebutkan mantan bosnya di 289 halaman buku dan pengakuan.
“Ini tentang pelajaran hidup saya di sepakbola dan ini benar -benar lebih banyak tentang yang saya alami secara langsung,” kata Belichick tentang mengapa Kraft tidak disebutkan dalam buku dalam wawancara dengan CBS News.
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