ESPN: Inside Bill Belichick's failed job hunt

[PFSIKH]

16 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

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. 

I am not sure where I am at on that.

If Kraft straight up nuked Bill's chances like is intimated, then that is pretty crappy and he should get paid.  If he was more along the lines of what Par$ells said about Belichick when hired.  Then that is not exactly Earth shattering news.

If anything has happened since they parted ways, Kraft is looking a lot worse.

[varjet]

• Bellichick’s lawyers should be writing Kraft a letter demanding a big payment.  For any of us who work in organizations with more than 5 employees, we are drilled that the only thing you say about former employees is whether they are former employees.
• There owners who can’t get out of their own way get the honor of hiring weak HC candidates.  I would be expecting to see the Patriots, Panthers and Falcons pick at the top of the draft in 2025.  
• But at some point, you need to turn over the wheel to the next generation.  Bellichick, overweight at 72 and showing that without Brady he is not the HC he used to be, should be moving on to something.  An EVP of football operations is a better role for him now.  I would take him on the Jets.  

[Matt39]

Just now, varjet said:

• Bellichick’s lawyers should be writing Kraft a letter demanding a big payment.  For any of us who work in organizations with more than 5 employees, we are drilled that the only thing you say about former employees is whether they are former employees.
• There owners who can’t get out of their own way get the honor of hiring weak HC candidates.  I would be expecting to see the Patriots, Panthers and Falcons pick at the top of the draft in 2025.  
• But at some point, you need to turn over the wheel to the next generation.  Bellichick, overweight at 72 and showing that without Brady he is not the HC he used to be, should be moving on to something.  An EVP of football operations is a better role for him now.  I would take him on the Jets.  

Kraft and is son will have the Patriots in the basement forever. Good for the Jets at least 

[varjet]

1 minute ago, PFSIKH said:

If anything has happened since they parted ways, Kraft is looking a lot worse.

Kraft makes himself out to be this cuddly and animated owner of one of the NFL’s great franchises (for now), but without Brady, Adams and now Bellichick it ain’t looking very good, and he is only a few years out of basically frequenting a strip mall for hand jobs from human trafficked masseuses.   

He should have known better than to get himself in the papers on this, but his pattern is to always be doing something (cheating, tugs, etc.) to get himself in the papers.  

[Matt39]

2 minutes ago, varjet said:

Kraft makes himself out to be this cuddly and animated owner of one of the NFL’s great franchises (for now), but without Brady, Adams and now Bellichick it ain’t looking very good, and he is only a few years out of basically frequenting a strip mall for hand jobs from human trafficked masseuses.   

He should have known better than to get himself in the papers on this, but his pattern is to always be doing something (cheating, tugs, etc.) to get himself in the papers.  

His wifes family had all of the money. Had enough sense to hand over full control to Parcells and Belichick, but now you’re seeing an old guy who looks like a fish out of water. The Pats are a complete mess. 

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

12 minutes ago, varjet said:

Kraft makes himself out to be this cuddly and animated owner of one of the NFL’s great franchises (for now), but without Brady, Adams and now Bellichick it ain’t looking very good, and he is only a few years out of basically frequenting a strip mall for hand jobs from human trafficked masseuses.   

He should have known better than to get himself in the papers on this, but his pattern is to always be doing something (cheating, tugs, etc.) to get himself in the papers.  

A couple subpar seasons and the “GOAT” HC is put out to pasture 🤣 

[ARodJetsFan]

It was a a very lengthy article, but an interesting read.

Understandably, it seems like BB's arrogance rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Humility & knowing how to win graciously, were never his strong suits.

[NYJCAP2]

1 hour ago, teptep said:

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.  

It’s basically writing itself…

[RutgersJetFan]

Really finding it shocking to read that a serial jerk who spent his entire career cheating and burning every professional relationship he had, from his owner to his star quarterback, struggled to find work once again. Shocking, I tell you.

[hmhertz]

4 hours ago, mrcoops said:

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.

What do you have against old perverts?  I thought you were my friend

[Sperm Edwards]

1 hour ago, PFSIKH said:

I am not sure where I am at on that.

If Kraft straight up nuked Bill's chances like is intimated, then that is pretty crappy and he should get paid.  If he was more along the lines of what Par$ells said about Belichick when hired.  Then that is not exactly Earth shattering news.

If anything has happened since they parted ways, Kraft is looking a lot worse.

Yeah that's plenty actionable as tortious interference if it can be proven this was said. In consideration for surrendering a guaranteed $20MM from Kraft, it is surely implied Kraft will not attempt to do or say anything - particularly to other potential employers, directly or indirectly - that would damage Belichick's ability to find employment elsewhere to replace that $20MM he was otherwise due.

I absolutely despise Belichick, and always will, but he'd be right to sue Kraft over this and would probably prevail.

Unfortunately for him, what's probably missing is hard evidence that it occurred. I mean, surely Kraft and Blank will both deny it, and the sources are anonymous so it'd take more than no-name hearsay in an article. So absent an unexpected admission from one of the two parties (or a third party if said person was in the room and could hear Kraft saying all this and was willing to betray his employer by ratting him out) most likely Belichick is eff'd. 

In terms of karma I won't shed a tear over it, but Kraft is 100% in the wrong here, and if it could be proven then after the dust (and case) settles he'd owe Belichick a major mountain of cash. That's my non-lawyer opinion. We have real ones here who are free to correct me.

[Jared]

54 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

His wifes family had all of the money. Had enough sense to hand over full control to Parcells and Belichick, but now you’re seeing an old guy who looks like a fish out of water. The Pats are a complete mess. 

Seriously.  No matter what you think about Parcells or Belichick, the Pats under Kraft were most successful when Kraft turned things over to the football guys and stayed out of the way.  I can understand why Kraft was unhappy with the Mac Jones / Matt Patricia years (it isn't like us fans were thrilled either), so I can also understand why he wanted to move on from Bill.

 

But how things have turned out over this offseason just makes Kraft come across as petty and insecure.

[jetstream23]

4 hours ago, mrcoops said:

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.

That really is the truth.

Belichick now has a very, very lengthy coaching history WITHOUT Brady as his QB....and it's not good.

It's almost like, how good of a coach was Phil Jackson?  He coached Michael Jordan for a decade before moving on to coach Kobe and Shaq.  Talk about a blind squirrel finding two nuts!

 

[Rich Thornburgh]

3 hours ago, UntouchableCrew said:

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. 

Woody has done worse over a much longer span of time

[Matt39]

6 minutes ago, Jared said:

Seriously.  No matter what you think about Parcells or Belichick, the Pats under Kraft were most successful when Kraft turned things over to the football guys and stayed out of the way.  I can understand why Kraft was unhappy with the Mac Jones / Matt Patricia years (it isn't like us fans were thrilled either), so I can also understand why he wanted to move on from Bill.

 

But how things have turned out over this offseason just makes Kraft come across as petty and insecure.

An attorney as the special assistant to the HC immediately after dismissing Belichick, is beyond bizarre.

[Rich Thornburgh]

8 minutes ago, Jared said:

Seriously.  No matter what you think about Parcells or Belichick, the Pats under Kraft were most successful when Kraft turned things over to the football guys and stayed out of the way.  I can understand why Kraft was unhappy with the Mac Jones / Matt Patricia years (it isn't like us fans were thrilled either), so I can also understand why he wanted to move on from Bill.

 

But how things have turned out over this offseason just makes Kraft come across as petty and insecure.

What?  Kraft and Parcells fell out because Kraft wanted to draft Terry Glenn and he was right.  Kraft also wanted to keep Brady.

I’m a patriots hater but to say Kraft is a bad owner is simply inaccurate 

 

[PFSIKH]

1 hour ago, varjet said:

Kraft makes himself out to be this cuddly and animated owner of one of the NFL’s great franchises (for now), but without Brady, Adams and now Bellichick it ain’t looking very good, and he is only a few years out of basically frequenting a strip mall for hand jobs from human trafficked masseuses.   

He should have known better than to get himself in the papers on this, but his pattern is to always be doing something (cheating, tugs, etc.) to get himself in the papers.  

The irony of the situation is the are both brilliant men in their respective fields, but have serious flaws in their person.  

Bill always pushing the envelope on rules placed a blemish on his record. 

Kraft has been a good owner.  The franchise has come a long way since the high school stadium the team played in when he bought the team.  He has always preached he let the experts run his various businesses.  You cannot nuke the coach that brought you all this success and then back pedal on how he did it.  Plus, you are a billionaire.  Go get a HJ from a pro in Vegas.

[Rich Thornburgh]

39 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

Really finding it shocking to read that a serial jerk who spent his entire career cheating and burning every professional relationship he had, from his owner to his star quarterback, struggled to find work once again. Shocking, I tell you.

Belichick had the falcons job which I thought was a good landing spot for him.  What does he do?  He uses the falcons as bait to try to get the cowboys job.  What a clown

[mrcoops]

48 minutes ago, hmhertz said:

What do you have against old perverts?  I thought you were my friend

Old Jets perverts are fine! Old Pats* perverts are scum.

I hope the ducks continue to be well-fed.

[rangerous]

3 hours ago, Matt39 said:

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

I’m not so sure about Kraft inheriting.  At the very least he didn’t inherit something like J&J.

[UntouchableCrew]

10 minutes ago, rangerous said:

I’m not so sure about Kraft inheriting.  At the very least he didn’t inherit something like J&J.

Correct. He’s relatively self made — took over his father in laws company initially but made himself a billionaire.

[Beerfish]

84-103 without Brady, even with Brady in later years his team building and gming was about the worst in the league.

What a guy was at his best is totally irrelevant with what he will bring now.

Much like the jets and their fans are always beaming with a HOF pro bowl QB in Rodges who is no longer a pro bowl mvp calibre player.

[JetsfaninNorthHollywood]

7 hours 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.

Sounds like an Al Davis or Jerry Jones move.

[T0mShane]

I must say, there’s something comforting about watching the slimiest people I grew up watching get to that third act where they’re in that King Lear raging on the heath phase getting their comeuppance. I know it awaits me, too, but the universality of it brings me peace. 

[JetsFlyer]

Scumbag vs scumbag

[T0mShane]

Just now, T0mShane said:

I must say, there’s something comforting about watching the slimiest people I grew up watching get to that third act where they’re in that King Lear raging on the heath phase getting their comeuppance. I know it awaits me, too, but the universality of it brings me peace. 

Scumbag

 

[Matt39]

2 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Scumbag

 

The Jets got their guy find a new slant 

[T0mShane]

7 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

The Jets got their guy find a new slant 

It’ll be funny to watch Douglas sit on his hands and get beat to Odunze this year in exactly the same way.

[TuscanyTile2]

7 hours ago, DoubleDown said:

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.

A lot of people believe this nonsense.  Beli is still in the GOAT convo, in my book.

[TuscanyTile2]

54 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

Scumbag

 

Why does that make you say "scumbag"?  There's nothing illegal about that move and he acquired additional draft capital while still getting the player he wanted, all while screwing over a division rival.  If the Jets did that to the Pats we'd be celebrating. 

[TuscanyTile2]

4 hours ago, jetstream23 said:

That really is the truth.

Belichick now has a very, very lengthy coaching history WITHOUT Brady as his QB....and it's not good.

It's almost like, how good of a coach was Phil Jackson?  He coached Michael Jordan for a decade before moving on to coach Kobe and Shaq.  Talk about a blind squirrel finding two nuts!

You can't compare basketball and football.  Basketball can be dominated by a couple of stars.  Football is very much a team sport and a good HC can change everything for a franchise.  e.g. Look at what BP and BB did for the Jets after Kotite.

People act like TB12 was a superstar from the very start.  BB won that 1st SB with only a reasonably good QB.  Plus give BB credit for keeping TB12 in there over Bledsoe, when he didn't have to.  There was also a 13-3 SB win in there as well.  Sounds pretty defense heavy to me.

BB is an all time great HC.  The worst day in Jets' history was when he "re-signed" as HC of the NYJ.

[Sperm Edwards]

13 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

BB is an all time great HC.  The worst day in Jets' history was when he "re-signed" as HC of the NYJ.

O napkin, my napkin?

[Larz]

15 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Scumbag

 

We all saw with our own eyes that JD was expecting a trade up and called it. He would have simply traded up if he was all in on Jones. He’s a stick and pick guy in the first round 

We all saw him poll the room when he was on the clock and ultimately went with Carrs top prospect on his board. 

[Larz]

28 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

O napkin, my napkin?

 

😂😂😂

[Bugg]

23 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.

Much to dislike about Belichick. But the Krafts are dicks. The biggest takeway from "Dynasty" was Jonathan Kraft is a whiny nepo douchebag who erroneously thinks he's brilliant, and Pops Kraft is a self-absorbed fraud. Without Belichick, there would be no Patriot Place and Kraft would have been forced to hold out a tin cup to cities across New England and beyond to build him a stadium. Anyone who's over 25 understands you can work with people even if you aren't best pals. 

Suspect that Belichick's greatest failing in any new job would be he's 72. Plausibly no other team would expect this would be anything but short term. But Kraft thinks because a coach is  ornery and obstinate is an issue now, well, he didn't think that when said coach was handing him 6 Lombardis.