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Belichick Makes Patriots Context Clear to Robert Kraft
After 24 seasons as the New England Patriots' head coach, Bill Belichick is trying his hand as a TV analyst during the 2024 NFL season. He is also currently a candidate to become the next UNC football coach. Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked at Fanatics Fest about what the best move he made in the 30 years he owned the team. He said without a doubt it was trading a first-round draft pick to the New York Jets for the right to hire Bill Belichick.

However, Kraft also said in making the move he took a "big risk" because of the previous coaching record Belichick had with the Cleveland Browns. Belichick had a subpar record with the Browns, but then again, so has every other coach they had in the last 30 years.

When Belichick, the new coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, caught wind of the statement he said it was he who took the big risk. There was no salary cap room when he took over the Patriots and they were awful under Pete Carroll, who was the coach before Belichick.

"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."  

Belichick also said he was talked to by others who advised him against the move and he would be met with resistance.

"I 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."

Notwithstanding the bickering, both parties can say it worked out. The six Vince Lombardi Trophies that are ever present in the New England Patriots complex speak volumes about the work Belichick did as head coach. After a losing season in his initial campaign, he won the Super Bowl the next season and did not having a losing record from 2001 to 2020. New England had made the playoffs every year from 2009 through 2019.

The parties mutually agreed to part ways in January 2024. Later, in December, Belichick, at age 73, decided to go back to college and coach the North Carolina Tar Heels. It was his first foray as a college head football coach.

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This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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