CAN’T REPLACE HOODINI
KRAFT: ‘Absolutely’ expect Pats’ coach back in 2018 GUREGIAN: You won’t find another Bill Belichick
On Friday, ESPN released a story by Seth Wickersham detailing a rift between Patriots owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, and concluded that a breakup between the three key players in the Patriots dynasty could come after this season.
Yesterday, two of the parties spoke publicly for the first time after a joint statement issued the day before.
Peter King of Sports Illustrated and MMQB (Monday Morning Quarterback) wrote of a conversation he had with Kraft. The owner refuted the claims in the ESPN piece that he mandated the team trade backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and “absolutely” believes Belichick will be coaching the team in 2018.
Brady appeared on Westwood One in a weekly interview with Jim Gray and denied any discord with Belichick and described Kraft as “like a second father to (me).” He also disputed the notion that he and Belichick were at odds.
“I have a great relationship with coach Belichick,” Brady said. “We’ve worked together for 18 years. There’s no coach I’d rather play for and I’ve loved my experience here. I certainly couldn’t be the player I am today without playing for such a great coach. I see these as all positive things . . . . That obviously doesn’t sell many newspapers.
“To me, I have such gratitude for my time here. I love my experience. I continue to love my experience. We’ve had a great season so far and hopefully we can write a great chapter, a great ending to this season by going out and playing great in the playoffs.”
In the King piece, Kraft addressed the Jimmy G trade.
“Until Monday at the trade deadline — I believe that was Oct. 30 — the last time I talked to Bill about Jimmy’s situation was in a group with Bill, (club president) Jonathan (Kraft), (director of player personnel) Nick Caserio … a small group of us, I think in June. That is the last time I talked to Bill about it. I would see Nick occasionally and say, ‘Anything going on?’
“I assumed once the season started, we’d talk again at the end of the season about it. The next time I spoke with Bill about it was the Monday before the trade deadline. He called me on that Monday and said he got a deal with San Francisco, Jimmy for a second-round pick and (quarterback) Brian Hoyer. Turns out they had to cut Hoyer and then we got him. But really, this was basically a secondround pick and Brian Hoyer for Jimmy. Bill asked me if I was OK with this. I was really taken aback a little bit. I wanted to think about it. I talked to Jonathan, who was OK with it, and I called Bill back and said, ‘OK.’ ”
Kraft also called the report that he met with Belichick for half a day before the season about Garoppolo “a total fabrication and fiction. I am telling you, it’s fiction.”
Brady had similar feelings on the views expressed in the ESPN article.
“I can only speak for myself,” Brady said. “And really, my relationships with everybody that I deal with I feel are so positive that to think anything differently than that is complete nonsense.”
The All-Pro quarterback does not feel the locker room will become fractured.
“I don’t think so. Only if we let it,” he said. “I think for so long we’ve proven that we ignore the noise. We do our job. We speak for (ourselves) and do our job and we focus on what we need for the team to win.”
When reached by King, Wickersham said, “I absolutely stand by my story.”