In a shocking moment, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly owned up to the fact that he made the wrong choice when it came to choosing Bill Belichick over Tom Brady.
Following a Wild Card Round loss to the Tennessee Titans in the 2019 NFL playoffs, the New England Patriots organization was at a crossroads. There were rumblings of dissension between legendary quarterback Tom Brady and iconic coach Bill Belichick. Furthermore, the head coach had already started making moves toward replacing the QB and claimed his best days were well behind him.
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With Brady’s contract up after the season, Robert Kraft had a difficult choice. Bring the aging legend back and likely alienate his head coach, or let “Tom Terrific” go and hope Belichick could show he is just as good without Brady as he is with him — given time.
In the end, the New England Patriots boss bet on his coach and let the superstar signal-caller walk. That proved to be a horrible decision as Brady went on to win a championship the very next season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Belichick led the Pats to a 29-38 record in the four seasons since and was sent packing following a 4-13 year in 2023-24.
New England Patriots boss admits to ‘mistake’ of letting Tom Brady leave
Many in and around the Patriots organization figured that Kraft has regretted the decision ever since but he has never admitted as much publicly. Well, it seems he did so recently to a person very close to the legendary QB.
On Wednesday, Tom Brady Sr. told the Boston Globe that back in September, even before the disastrous season that would lead to Belichick’s exit, Kraft told him he made the wrong decision.
“He just said, ‘I made a mistake.’ He told us that back in September,” Brady Sr. said about the conversation before the Patriots season opener. “We don’t all make the right decisions, but he’s made a hell of a lot of good ones over the years. But I know that it galls him that Tommy went elsewhere and won. Not that he won, but that he won after Bill said he was done.”
The New England Patriots have a huge offseason ahead with new head coach Jerrod Mayo taking over the team owning and having a top-five selection in April’s NFL Draft.
