Bill Belichick responds to Robert Kraft's ‘big risk' comments, says he was ‘warned' about Patriots

Boston Globe

3 days ago

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'And we did OK,' Kraft added, a joking reference to the unprecedented six Super Bowl wins and 17 division titles. (The actual date of the Belichick trade fell in Jan. 2000, not 1999).
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On Wednesday,
'As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,' Belichick told Van Natta Jr. 'I already had an opportunity to be the head coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.'
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Belichick claimed that he had been cautioned about taking the Patriots' head coaching role in early 2000 by other coaches.
'I had been warned by multiple previous Patriots coaches, as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media, that the New England job was going to come with many internal obstacles,' said Belichick. 'I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.'
In his first season, Belichick's Patriots went 5-11. But in 2001, thanks also to the unforeseen rise of Tom Brady, New England made an unexpected run to (and won) the Super Bowl. After that, the Patriots went almost two decades without a losing season. Belichick finished an astounding 266-121 (.687) in the regular season as the team's head coach, and engineered nine Super Bowl appearances.
'I appreciated Robert giving me the opportunity to make those changes and build a program that was consistent with my vision for a championship team,' Belichick noted.
Belichick went 36-44 (.450) during his Browns tenure, which had been his only other NFL head coaching role prior to the Patriots. And Kraft's memory of the criticism that the move elicited is
Still, Belichick helped direct the Patriots' defense in a Super Bowl run under Bill Parcells in the 1996 season, and had gone on to help Parcells turn the Jets around prior to leaving New York.
'The Jets were a solid team after three years of rebuilding under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC Championship Game appearance in [January] 1999,' Belichick added in his response to ESPN. 'Meanwhile, the Patriots Organization had dismantled their 1996 AFC Championship team and became one of the worst in the AFC. It didn't help that they were $10 million over the cap heading into my first season as Head Coach in 2000.'
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Yet Belichick sought an escape from New York, with Kraft eventually paying the price that Parcells (then working as Jets general manager) demanded. The trade has since been regarded as
As for what he specifically thinks Kraft meant by calling his hiring a 'big risk,' Belichick responded to Van Natta Jr. with characteristic economy.
'You'll have to ask Robert.'
Hayden Bird can be reached at