Rob Gronkowski shares surprising revelation about Patriots tenure, 'Patriot Way'

Conversations about what Bill Belichick was like while serving as head coach of the New England Patriots and about the "Patriot Way" resurfaced after former North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez and his dad sounded off about what Lopez experienced while playing for Belichick during the 2025 college season.  

Retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is among the former Patriots players who have spoken openly and honestly about how "it felt like you were in super depression for like two days" whenever New England suffered a single loss during Belichick's tenure. On the latest episode of the "4th and South" podcast, Gronkowski expanded on what the "Patriot Way" was and wasn't across the opening two decades of the 2000s. 

Is the "Patriot Way" merely a myth?

"It’s kind of like a myth, but it’s not a myth. It’s true, but it’s not truly true. There was never like, 'All right, this is the Patriot Way.' It was never explained like that," Gronkowski said, per Priyanshu Choudhary of Pro Football Network. "Belichick was never like, 'Patriot Way, this is how you do it.' We never said the Patriot Way, ever, in the locker room. That became a thing with the media and outside people looking in." 

Belichick's "Patriot Way" and having Tom Brady at the quarterback position helped the Patriots claim six Super Bowl championships from February 2002 through February 2019. Brady then left the organization in March 2020, and New England missed the playoffs three times across four years before Belichick was shown the door by team owner Robert Kraft. 

How Rob Gronkowski now views the "Patriot Way"

Gronkowski earned three of his four career Super Bowl rings while playing under Belichick. The future Hall of Famer also established himself as one of the greatest pass-catching tight ends in NFL history during his time with New England. 

"There was a standard," Gronkowski added about the "Patriot Way." "That’s more like it. There’s a standard to be held accountable every single day at a high level – show up and put in the best work you could possibly put in, and gain the trust of your teammates on a daily basis. And it made you a better player and a better person. I was blessed when I went to New England because I kind of needed that in my life. I was a freelancer out there. So having that structure was phenomenal for me."

One can only guess what Gronkowski would and wouldn't have been as a pro had he never been able to benefit from the structure offered to him by the "Patriot Way" that Belichick enforced en route to becoming the GOAT of his profession.