After 20 seasons together, which included six Super Bowl wins and nine Super Sunday appearances, the relationship between New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and superstar quarterback Tom Brady came to an end back in 2019-20.
With the desire to lead a team into battle still burning, Brady vaulted for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that offseason following a wildcard playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Bob Kraft Chose Belichick Over Brady To Lead New England Patriots Franchise
At the time of the breakup team owner Bob Kraft was put in the unenviable position of choosing between the greatest coach in league history and the winningest quarterback to ever take the field.
After wrestling with the decision, Kraft chose to stick with Belichick, but every time you hear Kraft talk about Brady leaving it sounds as if he has some real regrets.
Kraft Says Brady-Belichick Relationship Was Irreparable
In a recent interview to discuss the upcoming documentary entitled “The Dynasty”: New England Patriots on Apple TV, the well-respected Patriots head honcho had this to say about that huge development that for all intents and purposes ended the Patriots dynasty run.
Kraft first says he feels Brady would’ve opted to stay had he agreed to part ways with Belichick. And he also mentioned just how strained their relationship had become just one season removed from their sixth Super Bowl together.
“Tom and I had a number of discussions about how Bill treated him. Basically, it was a silent relationship. It was just totally dysfunctional.”
Despite Kraft looking at Brady as a son, he chose to stick with Belichick who also made the personnel decisions for the team. In the end, the move seemingly backfired with Brady going on to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win in his first season with the team, and a playoff appearance in all three seasons at the helm.
As for the Patriots they made the playoffs once in thar timeframe, and still haven’t found a replacement for Brady.
Kraft Moves On From Belichick
Following four subpar seasons since Brady departed (29-38) and some really bad personnel moves and coaching hires, Kraft pulled the plug on Belichick. He opted to replace him with Patriots legend Jerod Mayo a former linebacker for the franchise who played eight seasons for the team.
The move didn’t come as a surprise, but one has to wonder if Kraft had stuck with Brady over Belichick if the franchise would be better positioned for the future instead of now headed for a total rebuild.
Guess we’ll never know.
