
Bill Belichick's rebuttal to Robert Kraft's ‘risk' comment did him no favors
Advertisement
Belichick's long retort came off as extremely thin-skinned. The relationship between these two must be worse than ever. Belichick took some undeserved shots from Kraft in
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
But Belichick is the one rewriting history. Belichick says he is the one who 'took a big risk' by taking the Patriots' job? Belichick wasn't exactly in high demand after going 36-44 with the Browns, and he lost out on the Raiders job to Jon Gruden. Kraft, though, did take a risk in trading a first-round pick for a sub-.500 coach with a dull demeanor at the podium.
Another questionable claim: Belichick in 2000 took over a Patriots franchise that had 'dismantled' their 1996 Super Bowl team and 'became one of the worst in the AFC'? They went 10-6, 9-7, and 8-8 in three years under Pete Carroll, and only bottomed out at 5-11 after Belichick took over. Belichick in 2000 also inherited several players from the 1996 team, including Drew Bledsoe, Troy Brown, Terry Glenn, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson, and Adam Vinatieri.
Advertisement
And while Van Natta, not Belichick, wrote that the Patriots ranked 31st out of 32 teams in spending since 1994, that stat has Belichick's fingerprints all over it. It also warrants a fact check since the Panthers and Jaguars didn't exist until 1995, the Ravens until 1996, the Browns didn't play from 1996-98, and the Texans didn't exist until 2002. Unfortunately, accurate cash spending data from the last 30 years is difficult to find.
Belichick spent 25 years ignoring the noise, staying above the fray, and cultivating an image as a cunning, unflappable genius. A rapid transformation into the sensitive, media-hungry Belichick in the last six months is a surprising turn that is damaging his legacy.
Ben Volin can be reached at

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Fox Sports
8 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Reigning champion Clemson is again the ACC preseason football favorite, ahead of Miami and SMU
Associated Press Clemson is the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of Miami and SMU, while North Carolina is picked to finish eighth in its first season under NFL coaching great Bill Belichick. The league released its preseason poll Wednesday among media members who attended last week's preseason football media days in Charlotte, North Carolina. The reigning champion Tigers earned 167 of 183 possible first-place votes as the runaway choice to win the league for the 10th time under Dabo Swinney, a run that includes eight of the last 10 going back to the 2015 season. 'We've been around a lot of good teams, and this team has the ingredients to be a really good team, but we've got to go do the work," Swinney said last week at the ACC Kickoff event. 'We can't talk about it or predict our way into it. Y'all can't predict our way into it. We've got to go do it and do the work.' The Hurricanes were picked second and earned seven first-place votes, coming as they look to Georgia transfer quarterback Carson Beck to fill the job vacated by No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward. The Mustangs were third after reaching last year's ACC title game in their first season in the conference amid the league's westward expansion, and is coming off consecutive 11-win seasons under Rhett Lashlee. As for the Tar Heels, Belichick is a first-time college coach who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. The Tar Heels have overhauled their roster in a bid to reshape and elevate their program, though it's unclear exactly how well it will work — landing them in the middle of the 17-team league. Georgia Tech was picked fourth, followed by Louisville, Duke and Florida State — last year's preseason favorite that won only two games in a stunning flop. Pittsburgh was ninth, followed by N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia. California was 15th, followed by the two other league schools breaking in new head coaches: Wake Forest with Jake Dickert, and Stanford with former NFL head coach Frank Reich working under an interim tag. The league is scheduled to release it preseason all-ACC honors Thursday. ___ AP college football: and recommended Item 1 of 3


Hamilton Spectator
8 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Reigning champion Clemson is again the ACC preseason football favorite, ahead of Miami and SMU
Clemson is the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of Miami and SMU, while North Carolina is picked to finish eighth in its first season under NFL coaching great Bill Belichick. The league released its preseason poll Wednesday among media members who attended last week's preseason football media days in Charlotte, North Carolina. The reigning champion Tigers earned 167 of 183 possible first-place votes as the runaway choice to win the league for the 10th time under Dabo Swinney, a run that includes eight of the last 10 going back to the 2015 season. 'We've been around a lot of good teams, and this team has the ingredients to be a really good team, but we've got to go do the work,' Swinney said last week at the ACC Kickoff event. 'We can't talk about it or predict our way into it. Y'all can't predict our way into it. We've got to go do it and do the work.' The Hurricanes were picked second and earned seven first-place votes, coming as they look to Georgia transfer quarterback Carson Beck to fill the job vacated by No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward. The Mustangs were third after reaching last year's ACC title game in their first season in the conference amid the league's westward expansion, and is coming off consecutive 11-win seasons under Rhett Lashlee. As for the Tar Heels, Belichick is a first-time college coach who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. The Tar Heels have overhauled their roster in a bid to reshape and elevate their program, though it's unclear exactly how well it will work — landing them in the middle of the 17-team league. Georgia Tech was picked fourth, followed by Louisville, Duke and Florida State — last year's preseason favorite that won only two games in a stunning flop. Pittsburgh was ninth, followed by N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia. California was 15th, followed by the two other league schools breaking in new head coaches: Wake Forest with Jake Dickert , and Stanford with former NFL head coach Frank Reich working under an interim tag . The league is scheduled to release it preseason all-ACC honors Thursday. ___ AP college football: and
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Patriots release Trayveon Williams, make several other moves
The Patriots announced a number of roster moves on Wednesday afternoon, including one that ended running back Trayveon Williams's time with the team. Williams signed with the Patriots in May after spending the last six seasons with the Bengals. The 2019 sixth-round pick ran 62 times for 307 yards with Cincinnati and also saw time as a kickoff returner. Rhamondre Stevenson, second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson, Lan Larison, and Terrell Jennings remain in the New England backfield. The Patriots also waived offensive tackle Yasir Durant and wide receiver Demeer Blankumsee. Durant's departure came with an injury designation. Those three roster spots will be filled by tight end Tyler Davis, tight end Cole Fotheringham, and center Alec Lindstrom.