After the 2023 season, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick “mutually agreed to part ways,” though it’s clear Kraft pushed Belichick out following a disappointing 4-13 record.
On a recent episode of “The Breakfast Club” podcast, Kraft reflected on the decision to move on from Belichick, considered by many as one of the greatest NFL coaches ever. “I didn’t like having to fire him,” Kraft said, as reported by Lauren Campbell of MassLive. “But if you look at how it was done, I tried to handle it with class. What he achieved for us was incredible. But people need to adapt, and if they don’t, change happens.” Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles from 2000 until Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. While Brady won another Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in his first season, Belichick’s Patriots missed the playoffs three times in four years, prompting Kraft to seek a new direction.
“In life, it’s about having good chemistry and trust, and our record over the past three to four years wasn’t what I wanted,” Kraft explained. “I gave [Belichick] a lot of power, full control over everything. In hindsight, I should’ve implemented more checks and balances.”
In January, Kraft ruled out keeping Belichick as head coach while bringing in an executive to oversee personnel decisions, noting that Belichick had “total control over every decision.” Ultimately, Kraft promoted linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to head coach and made Eliot Wolf the team’s executive vice president of player personnel.
“He had earned the right to run the football operations,” Kraft said of Belichick’s two-decade tenure. “But when results don’t come, in sports, you either win or lose. There’s no middle ground. And I hate losing.”
Reports during the offseason suggested that Kraft and Belichick had grown tired of each other after Brady’s departure, and some rumors suggested Kraft influenced the Atlanta Falcons’ decision not to hire Belichick.
As of 2024, the Patriots are struggling with a 1-5 record amid a major roster rebuild. Belichick may return to coaching in 2025 with teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, or Jacksonville Jaguars as potential landing spots.
