ESPN: Inside Bill Belichick's failed job hunt

[SomebodytoAnybody47]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39955777/how-patriots-legend-bill-belichick-end-nfl-job

Too long to post here. But a good read and basically Kraft f'n over Belichick lol. 

In a comment echoed by others, a source with a team that had a head-coaching vacancy this year said Belichick's "ability to build a culture at this stage is an issue. ... He was so stubborn with the offense. He ran that offense down to a pulp. Mac Jones looked like a capable quarterback early. You think [Joe] Judge and Matt Patricia can run the offense for him? It's arrogance."

 

But in a conversation with Blank, Kraft delivered a stark assessment of Belichick's character, according to a source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant. The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, "Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill." That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.

Multiple sources said that Kraft spoke with "some candor" to Blank about Belichick, though the sources declined to elaborate. One source close to Belichick said Kraft "was a big part" of why the Falcons passed on hiring him.

 

"The Patriot Way is damaged," a former Patriots assistant coach said.

Belichick also, like many in the New England circle, quietly observed the attacks of the Patriot Way in recent months, through Belichick's job hunt and fallout from the docuseries. "A lot of people are pissed," a Belichick confidant said. "His name was smeared."

 

WOMP WOMP

[The Troll]

With Kraft already 82, it's a shame he will only be alive to see them suck for a little bit.

[Warfish]

You know, I have no love for Belli, but it's a pure dick-move by Kraft to cock-block him if that really happened.

Guy led your franchise for ages, and brought you multiple titles.  Yes, he had Brady, and Brady is the GOAT, but lots of Coaches had potential GOAT's and never won piss all (Marino anyone?)

The NFL is full of "we let him loose to allow him to cacth on with someone else" type honor at times, and Krafy sh*t-talking Belli behind his back, no matter how earned it may be in Kraft's mind, is just a total dick move.  Maybe it was never just Belli who was the scumbag, but Kraft too.

[SomebodytoAnybody47]

Also found this bit funny - 

But this offseason, Carolina decided to pass, a source said. Panthers owner David Tepper often sifts through data to critique his coach's playcalling. That, according to a source, "is tough to do with Belichick as the figurehead." The Panthers opted for 42-year-old former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales.

 

That must be fun for the coach to have your owner critique your play calling every week lol.

[Untouchable]

I’m tired of acknowledging these basement dwellers.

[Matt39]

Krafts a buffoon 

[slimjasi]

He's a 72 year old defensive head coach. Most teams looking for a new coach are hoping to find a guy who can have sustained success and be the head of the franchise for the next 10 years. 

There is no big mystery here. 

[mrcoops]

The old pervert Kraft and the old cheater Belichick truly deserved each other.

It's just a shame they lucked into Brady and made everyone else's life a misery for two decades.

[Sperm Edwards]

58 minutes ago, Warfish said:

You know, I have no love for Belli, but it's a pure dick-move by Kraft to cock-block him if that really happened.

Guy led your franchise for ages, and brought you multiple titles.  Yes, he had Brady, and Brady is the GOAT, but lots of Coaches had potential GOAT's and never won piss all (Marino anyone?)

The NFL is full of "we let him loose to allow him to cacth on with someone else" type honor at times, and Krafy sh*t-talking Belli behind his back, no matter how earned it may be in Kraft's mind, is just a total dick move.  Maybe it was never just Belli who was the scumbag, but Kraft too.

No doubt, but it's less dicky if Belichick is still collecting $20MM/year from Kraft. I sense BB gave that up in an endeavor to mutually part ways. If there was such a mutual parting of ways, with Belichick forgoing that otherwise-guaranteed money, and then Kraft interfered in his ability to get employed by one of Kraft's competitors (even in the other conference, the other 31 teams are always competitors)? That is - or should be - a lawsuit. 

You can't induce a guy to give up a minimum of $20MM to become a free agent, and then do everything he can to make sure no one else pays him either. Well you can, but you run a high risk of being a defendant. 

And I say this while fully also saying I despise everything I know about Belichick, and with further figuring he probably at least attempted to do the same to Mangini after leaving the Pats for the Jets.

[Gibby]

Nothing about him being a scumbag?

[batman10023]

54 minutes ago, Warfish said:

You know, I have no love for Belli, but it's a pure dick-move by Kraft to cock-block him if that really happened.

Guy led your franchise for ages, and brought you multiple titles.  Yes, he had Brady, and Brady is the GOAT, but lots of Coaches had potential GOAT's and never won piss all (Marino anyone?)

The NFL is full of "we let him loose to allow him to cacth on with someone else" type honor at times, and Krafy sh*t-talking Belli behind his back, no matter how earned it may be in Kraft's mind, is just a total dick move.  Maybe it was never just Belli who was the scumbag, but Kraft too.

agree that kind of a jerk move.  

not really sure why he would do something.

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

1 hour ago, SomebodytoAnybody47 said:

Also found this bit funny - 

But this offseason, Carolina decided to pass, a source said. Panthers owner David Tepper often sifts through data to critique his coach's playcalling. That, according to a source, "is tough to do with Belichick as the figurehead." The Panthers opted for 42-year-old former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales.

That must be fun for the coach to have your owner critique your play calling every week lol.

Tepper is infinitely worse than Woody.

Worst owner in the league hands down.

[UntouchableCrew]

1 hour ago, The Troll said:

With Kraft already 82, it's a shame he will only be alive to see them suck for a little bit.

Don't worry his boob son will run in them into the ground.

Nothing better than when the silver spoon generation takes over thinking they're the "expert,"

[UntouchableCrew]

6 minutes ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Tepper is infinitely worse than Woody.

Worst owner in the league hands down.

Agree with this. I think with Snyder out of the picture Tepper has stepped up and is looking pretty clearly like the worst owner in the league. Any owner who is legitimately in on play calling is a huge, huge problem.

[DoubleDown]

The facts are self-evident.  Without the GOAT quarterback, Bellichick is a losing head coach.  It's a trend that spans decades with multiple teams, and it's not based on a small sample size.

He's old, stubborn, and proven to lose more than win when he isn't riding the coattails of Brady.  He would have flamed out of the league as a failed head coach a long time ago if he didn't luck into a 6th round unicorn over two decades ago.

[Rich Thornburgh]

19 minutes ago, JoeNamathsFurCoat said:

Nobody is infinitely worse than Woody.

Worst owner in the league hands down.

Fixed

[Rich Thornburgh]

12 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

Agree with this. I think with Snyder out of the picture Tepper has stepped up and is looking pretty clearly like the worst owner in the league. Any owner who is legitimately in on play calling is a huge, huge problem.

14 years 0 playoff appearances.  Franchise going nowhere.  Zach still here just 2 injuries away from starting again after clearly being a bust

 

Woody is the freaking worst

[rangerous]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

You know, I have no love for Belli, but it's a pure dick-move by Kraft to cock-block him if that really happened.

Guy led your franchise for ages, and brought you multiple titles.  Yes, he had Brady, and Brady is the GOAT, but lots of Coaches had potential GOAT's and never won piss all (Marino anyone?)

The NFL is full of "we let him loose to allow him to cacth on with someone else" type honor at times, and Krafy sh*t-talking Belli behind his back, no matter how earned it may be in Kraft's mind, is just a total dick move.  Maybe it was never just Belli who was the scumbag, but Kraft too.

Yep.  What can you think if a hard nosed business man says you can’t trust bellichicken.  Maybe so but I suspect Kraft has pulled off quite a few untrustworthy deals in his time.  At the very least he played Hartford for chumps when he was talking about moving from Foxboro if they didn’t approve his new stadium.

[rangerous]

Not for nothing but woody went to krafty to get tips on running an nfl team.  Anyone thinks Kraft gave him great advice?  Not a chance.

[UntouchableCrew]

2 minutes ago, Rich Thornburgh said:

14 years 0 playoff appearances.  Franchise going nowhere.  Zach still here just 2 injuries away from starting again after clearly being a bust

 

Woody is the freaking worst

In the 5 years before Tepper bought the Panthers they were 51-28-1. They had 4 playoff appearances, 3 division titles, 3 playoff wins, an NFC Championship, and an MVP QB.

In the 6 years since Tepper took over they are 31-68 and have had 7 head coaches.

(For comparison's sake Woody's first 6 years included a record of 49-47 with 4 playoff appearances, 1 division title, 2 playoff wins and 2 head coaches.)

Woody is a bad owner but Tepper has been doing everything in his power to establish himself as the absolute worst. 

[DoubleDown]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

You know, I have no love for Belli, but it's a pure dick-move by Kraft to cock-block him if that really happened.

Guy led your franchise for ages, and brought you multiple titles.  Yes, he had Brady, and Brady is the GOAT, but lots of Coaches had potential GOAT's and never won piss all (Marino anyone?)

The NFL is full of "we let him loose to allow him to cacth on with someone else" type honor at times, and Krafy sh*t-talking Belli behind his back, no matter how earned it may be in Kraft's mind, is just a total dick move.  Maybe it was never just Belli who was the scumbag, but Kraft too.

There have been rumblings of tensions between Kraft, Bellichick, and Brady for years.  I agree Kraft should have just taken the high road and stayed out of it, but it isn't exactly earth shattering news that owners and others within the NFL "inner circle" talk behind closed doors.

[Larz]

No Ernie Adams either. I’m sure people noticed how the winning stopped after he retired 

[sourceworx]

2 hours ago, SomebodytoAnybody47 said:

In a comment echoed by others, a source with a team that had a head-coaching vacancy this year said Belichick's "ability to build a culture at this stage is an issue. ... He was so stubborn with the offense. He ran that offense down to a pulp. Mac Jones looked like a capable quarterback early. You think [Joe] Judge and Matt Patricia can run the offense for him? It's arrogance."

 

It sounds like he was trying really hard to prove their success wasn't all because of Brady. 

This all makes me so happy. 

[Matt39]

27 minutes ago, rangerous said:

Yep.  What can you think if a hard nosed business man says you can’t trust bellichicken.  Maybe so but I suspect Kraft has pulled off quite a few untrustworthy deals in his time.  At the very least he played Hartford for chumps when he was talking about moving from Foxboro if they didn’t approve his new stadium.

Remember when he put his dead wife’s initials on the uniforms and then a week later was showing up to games with a 22 year old blonde?

[Integrity28]

Scumbag. Bill Belichek is a scumbag.

[teptep]

January 2025: Coming off a disappointing wild card playoff loss with a talent laden team, the Jets clean house and hire Bill Belichick to maximize the talent on the roster and Aaron Rodger's final years.  

[PFSIKH]

2 hours ago, Sperm Edwards said:

No doubt, but it's less dicky if Belichick is still collecting $20MM/year from Kraft. I sense BB gave that up in an endeavor to mutually part ways. If there was such a mutual parting of ways, with Belichick forgoing that otherwise-guaranteed money, and then Kraft interfered in his ability to get employed by one of Kraft's competitors (even in the other conference, the other 31 teams are always competitors)? That is - or should be - a lawsuit. 

You can't induce a guy to give up a minimum of $20MM to become a free agent, and then do everything he can to make sure no one else pays him either. Well you can, but you run a high risk of being a defendant. 

And I say this while fully also saying I despise everything I know about Belichick, and with further figuring he probably at least attempted to do the same to Mangini after leaving the Pats for the Jets.

I would say this is more probable than not.

Tom Curan reported late in the season when the writing was essentially on the wall that Bill was gone.  He had been extended after 2022 for two or three years.  

If Bill wants the wins record, it was mutually beneficial for him to be free sooner.

[jetswin]

the 3 amigos, Krafty Cindy, and belitwit

 

good riddance

[Sonny Werblin]

2 hours ago, SomebodytoAnybody47 said:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39955777/how-patriots-legend-bill-belichick-end-nfl-job

Too long to post here. But a good read and basically Kraft f'n over Belichick lol. 

In a comment echoed by others, a source with a team that had a head-coaching vacancy this year said Belichick's "ability to build a culture at this stage is an issue. ... He was so stubborn with the offense. He ran that offense down to a pulp. Mac Jones looked like a capable quarterback early. You think [Joe] Judge and Matt Patricia can run the offense for him? It's arrogance."

 

But in a conversation with Blank, Kraft delivered a stark assessment of Belichick's character, according to a source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant. The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, "Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill." That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.

Multiple sources said that Kraft spoke with "some candor" to Blank about Belichick, though the sources declined to elaborate. One source close to Belichick said Kraft "was a big part" of why the Falcons passed on hiring him.

 

"The Patriot Way is damaged," a former Patriots assistant coach said.

Belichick also, like many in the New England circle, quietly observed the attacks of the Patriot Way in recent months, through Belichick's job hunt and fallout from the docuseries. "A lot of people are pissed," a Belichick confidant said. "His name was smeared."

 

WOMP WOMP

During his entire career, BB has shown nothing but disdain for the offensive side of the ball. If it wasn't about running the ball or throwing to the TE, he wanted nothing to do with it. In his view, an Offense that does not lose the game is the best Offense. That only works when you have Lawrence Taylor or are stealing the other team's signals. The guy is a scumbag who happens to be a darn good defensive football coach. Nothing more. He is no genius and there is no "patriot way". It s a myth born of BB's paranoia and Brady's excellence at playing the position of QB. I take great solace in the fact that an aging Tom Brady with his best years clearly in the rear view mirror won a SB without BB confirming who exactly needed who to be successful. I bet if Kraft had to make the decision all over again, he would have kept Brady and fired BB.

[rex-n-effect]

This really only makes sense if the "mutual decision" to exit Belichick was a ruse to avoid press fixation on Belichick's firing and Belichick is due his 2024 comp without an offset. Then it's Kraft's revenge to drop a log on Belichick's job search.

If Belichick negotiated away his comp, it almost certainly included a non-disparagement or confidentiality provision to avoid anybody with the Patriots doing exactly this. Even a bad agent would be smart enough to include that as part of a compromise of $25mm in comp. If his contract included an offset for 2024 comp, it's hard to imagine Kraft wanted to eat that money just to call Belichick out to another owner.

[Sperm Edwards]

51 minutes ago, PFSIKH said:

I would say this is more probable than not.

Tom Curan reported late in the season when the writing was essentially on the wall that Bill was gone.  He had been extended after 2022 for two or three years.  

If Bill wants the wins record, it was mutually beneficial for him to be free sooner.

Yeah, well if that was the deal and then Kraft did this, then he owes that mumbling, torn hoodie wearing, manziere-needing scumbag the $20MM he wouldn't have otherwise given up. That's not just rub & tug money. 

[Tooooon]

About f’ing time these aholes are a laughing stock 

[Matt39]

Ok this is pretty awesome 

 

[Fantasy Island]

I love watching Billy boy reaping what he sowed.  Effing cheater

[Matt39]

2 hours ago, rangerous said:

Not for nothing but woody went to krafty to get tips on running an nfl team.  Anyone thinks Kraft gave him great advice?  Not a chance.

Both inherited their money, so two peas in a pod.