While former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is busy winning Super Bowls and enjoying the warm Florida weather, the climate around Foxborough, Massachusetts appears to be more frigid than ever.
ESPN writer Seth Wickersham’s new book titled, It's Better To Be Feared, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the many secrets of the New England Patriots' dynasty and offers commentary on the bureaucracy that exists from within the franchise. The book also suggests that the relationship between owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick may be on the rocks.
In an excerpt from the book, owner Robert Kraft took shots at head coach Bill Belichick, referring to the Hall of Fame coach as the "biggest f*cking a**hole in my life." At the time Kraft was disheartened about leaving a conference in Colorado, to travel with the Patriots as they faced the Detroit Lions in an away game.
Sources from ESPN quote Kraft expressing his frustration, saying:
"You leave here [the conference] and you leave some of the most brilliant people you’ve ever met. You pick up so much knowledge from all these brilliant minds. And I have to go to Detroit to be with the biggest f*cking a**hole in my life — my head coach."
Kraft also seemed to put into question Belichick’s now pristine legacy calling him an "idiot savant" and saying to another friend, "I gave him this opportunity."
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The dissension between Bill Belichick, ownership, the franchises stakeholders, and Tom Brady has been well-documented over the years. In a recent interview with the Boston Herald, Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, told the publication that Belichick's tragic flaw was that he failed to adapt as he got older.
Guerrero went on to say, "I think in time, with Tom, as Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted." He continued, "…I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So you can’t treat someone who’s in his 40s like they’re 20. It doesn’t work."
NFL sources believe the lack of talent surrounding Brady, combined with a deteriorating relationship with Belichick, became the main reasons why the Hall of Fame quarterback decided to pursue another career opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
During the 2020-2021 NFL season Tom Brady led the franchise to an 11-5 record in his first season with the club. The Buccaneers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers capped off an undefeated NFC playoff-off run by defeating the Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV.
During the 2020-2021 NFL season, the Patriots, whose roster was disparaged by the COVID-19 virus, missed the playoffs for the first time in eleven years.
The Patriots host the Buccaneers at Gillette Stadium Sunday night, for the first time since their former quarterback left for Tampa Bay in free agency.