For 24 years, Bill Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had a fruitful relationship. Everything seemed rosy in New England when Belichick led the team to six Super Bowl titles. But following Belichick's firing after the 2023 NFL season, the relationship between Belichick and Kraft has experienced quite a few ups and downs. The latest development on that front came Wednesday, as Belichick felt compelled to respond to a statement made by Kraft while he appeared on a podcast with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. During an appearance on the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast, Kraft was asked about his best move as Patriots owner. He said it was hiring Belichick, which was considered a "big risk" at the time. "Getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots," Kraft said. "I gave up a No. 1 draft pick [for a] coach who had only won a little over 40 percent of his games in 1999. It was a big risk and I got hammered in the Boston media, but I think we did OK." That apparently didn't sit well with Belichick, who told ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. on Wednesday that it was actually the coach who assumed the risks when he decided to go to the Patriots. "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 in response to questions. "I already had an opportunity to be the head coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable." Belichick was hired by the Patriots a day after accepting a head coaching job with the New York Jets. As Belichick told Van Natta, the Jets' ownership situation was uncertain after previous owner Leon Hess died in 1999. The team was managed by his estate between 1999 and 2000 before Woody Johnson purchased it. Prior to joining the Patriots, Belichick said he was "warned" by previous Patriots coaches that things would need to change in New England if the team wanted to win. "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." Belichick was essentially given full control of the Patriots' roster, and it resulted in an unprecedented run of success. He put up a 302-165 record with the Patriots, winning six Super Bowls and cementing himself as one of the greatest coaches of all time. After going 4-13 in 2023, Belichick was fired by the team. He spent the 2024 NFL season out of a job before joining the North Carolina Tar Heels for the 2025 season. Belichick hasn't coached a single game with North Carolina yet, but has alreadymade headlinesthanks to his relationship with girlfriend Jordon Hudson. Since leaving the Patriots, Belichick and Kraft's relationship has come under scrutiny. The two have appearedfriendly with each other publicly, but it would appear there's some animosity over how things ended. Notably, the coach's new book, "The Art of Winning," does not mention Kraft. He's not evenlisted in the acknowledgements. Wednesday's comments offer more proof that Belichick still harbors some friction over the situation, or at least believes he deserves more credit for turning the Patriots into one of the NFL's premier franchises.
