New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick have been a dynamic duo in helping turn the franchise into one of the best in the sports over the last two decades, however, more signs of a growing rift continue to arise.
There is no denying Bill Belichick’s special place in NFL and New England Patriots history. The 70-year-old will go down as one of the greatest head coaches in sports history after a legendary run that includes six trips to the Super Bowl. That’s why the team’s owner had an unquestioned trust in his decisions throughout that time.
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Even when Belichick felt it was time to find their next franchise quarterback and move on from league icon Tom Brady, owner Robert Kraft went right along with the coach’s tough decisions. However, when Brady went on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Patriots had mixed results, the cracks in that rock-solid trust started to show.
Things were likely exacerbated in 2022 after Belichick took an unusual approach to fill offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ spot after he left to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The choice of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to run the offense seemingly had a hugely negative effect on quarterback Mac Jones in year two following a very strong rookie campaign.
New England Patriots record (2022): 8-9, third place in AFC East
While Jones has not received glowing support from Bill Belichick — few players do — Robert Kraft has made it publicly known multiple times that he feels Jones is the team’s QB of the future. That thought process was recently explained by New England Patriots insider Greg Bedard during a Saturday edition of his podcast on the Patriots Press Pass YouTube channel.
“I don’t know how many more times Robert Kraft has to be anywhere and talk about Mac Jones and how much they believe in him — and probably also his rookie contract — that they think Bill screwed the pooch last year with Mac Jones. And they don’t think that should be held against Mac. Now they have Bill O’Brien and they should go forward.”
– Greg Bedard
After the disastrous season, the offense had in 2022, the New England Patriots brought back former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien during the offseason.
