Report: Kraft warned Atlanta not to hire Belichick
Patriots owner denies ESPN story through spokesman
According to an ESPN report Wednesday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft played a role in the Falcons’ coaching search and ultimate decision not to hire Bill Belichick last January.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank spoke to Kraft at least twice over the phone after interviewing Belichick on Jan. 15, per the report. Kraft allegedly called Blank to “warn him not to trust Bill,” according to a third-hand source who spoke separately to a close Kraft friend and longtime Belichick confidant about the owners’ interaction. Blank considers Kraft his closest friend in ownership circles, according to ESPN.
Patriots vice president of communications Stacey James provided a statement denying ESPN’S report.
“Robert steadfastly denies saying anything negative to Arthur Blank about Bill Belichick after Robert and Bill mutually agreed to part ways,” James told ESPN. “In fact, Robert advocated for Bill to get the job.”
James was asked if Kraft had ever criticized Belichick to Blank. James said Kraft had no recollection of doing so, but acknowledged he might have done so prior to January.
“It would not surprise me to learn that owners sometimes lament to those close to them when their teams are struggling,” James told ESPN, “but Robert Kraft never questioned Bill’s character or trust when talking with Arthur Blank. Trust is important to Robert. He wouldn’t have employed Coach Belichick for the past 24 years if he ever questioned his trust.”
Multiple sources told ESPN that Kraft spoke with “some candor” about Belichick, but those sources declined to elaborate what he said to Blank. One source close to Kraft told ESPN that the Patriots owner “found Bill to be extremely difficult and obstinate and kind of stubborn and, in the end, not worthy of his trust. And also very, very, very arrogant.” However, the same source said he didn’t know if Kraft warned Blank about Belichick, but that
Robert and Jonathan Kraft felt betrayed by their former head coach.
“I don’t think they’d try to hurt Belichick,” the source told ESPN. “But I don’t think they’d try to help him either. They weren’t going to try to sink him. He was finished as an effective head coach. Just look at his last four years in New England. A disaster … if you’re Arthur Blank, why do you want the headaches?”
After Atlanta hired former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Belichick was left without a job in the head-coaching cycle, when he only interviewed with the Falcons. Had Blank hired Belichick, he would have offset the reported $25 million annual salary owed to Belichick by the Krafts this year, per the report. Belichick’s old contract with the Patriots reportedly ran through 2024.
In the end, Belichick was reportedly not a top-three choice for Atlanta’s chief decision-makers, including general manager Terry Fontenot,
CEO Rich Mckay and president Greg Beadles. The 72-year-old was reportedly “blindsided” when the Falcons announced they were hiring Morris instead.
According to ESPN, Belichick had impressed Blank during their 1-on-1 meeting, but failed to persuade his lieutenants. Fontenot and Mckay were allegedly not eager to work with Belichick, and were concerned he would inevitably run the team even if he wasn’t handed total control. Belichick conveyed he was willing to work with Fontenot, per ESPN.
Other executives, according to one source, “viewed Belichick as an older, stoic coach who’d blow up the building” and wouldn’t likely stay beyond two years after he sets the all-time wins record. The Falcons also had concerns about the coaching staff he would assemble, with ex-patriots assistants Josh Mcdaniels, Joe Judge, Matt Patricia and Jack Easterby named specifically.
Belichick recently told confidants he’s interested in coaching the Cowboys, Eagles or Giants next season and expects to earn a
head-coaching interview in 2025. In the meantime, he is expected to sign a media deal with Omaha Productions, which produces ESPN’S “Manningcast,” for the upcoming season. On Wednesday, ESPN announced Belichick would be a guest draft analyst on “The Pat Mcafee Show,” where he made his show debut that same afternoon.
Belichick is also writing a football leadership book modeled after Bill Walsh’s “Finding the Winning Edge,” which influenced Belichick’s program in New England.