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New England Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft made a recent comment that caught Bill Belichick’s eye.
Kraft said that the hiring of Belichick in 1999 was the best decision he made as the Patriots owner, but added that hiring Belichick was a “big risk.”
“Whoever was questioned most was in 1999,” said Kraft last month during a performance at “Dudes On Dudes” with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.
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North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick talks to the media in the Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Preferred Pictures)
“I gave up a draft of # 1 to a coach who had only won just over 40% of his games to get him out. I don’t know if there is any jets fans here. I think getting Bill Belichick should come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk and I was hammered in the Boston area but he was with us for 24 years.”
Belichick replied to Kraft’s comments and said that taking Patriot’s main coach job was a “big risk.”
“When I told Robert several times over the years, I took a great risk of taking New England Patriot’s main coach job,” Belichick said in a statement to ESPN.
“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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Head coach Bill Belichick, Left, from New England Patriots shaking his hands with owner Robert Kraft during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on January 11, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“Jets was a solid team after three years of reconstruction under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC championship playing performance in (January) 1999.
“Meanwhile, the Patriots organization had dismantled their AFC championship team from 1996 and became one of the worst in AFC. It didn’t help they were $ 10 million over Cap on my way into my first season as the main coach of 2000.”
North Carolina -Head coach said he was “warned” of “internal obstacles.
“I had been warned by several former Patriots’ coaches as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media that the New England job would come with many internal obstacles,” Belichick said. “I made it clear that we should change the way the team was managed to regain the success of the previously achieved.”
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Left, and head coach Bill Belichick looks at from the sidelines before the game against Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Despite the warnings he received, Belichick continued with one of the most successful races in the NFL story with the patriots. The Patriots went 266-121 under Belichick, with six Super Bowl titles, 13 AFC championship game performance and 17 AFC East titles.
“I appreciated Robert (Kraft) and gave me the opportunity to make these changes and build a program that was in line with my vision for a championship team,” Belichick said.
Despite Belichick being at the forefront of the success of the patriots, the 73-year-old is still not in the Patriots Hall of Fame.
