Buried within a bombshell piece that was published by ESPN this week is a claim that New England Patriots fans may find impossible to believe — Bill Belichick gets along with Roger Goodell?
In his lengthy piece of investigative reporting, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham examines the ongoing power struggle involving Belichick, Tom Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. One of the biggest takeaways is that Belichick was reportedly forced into trading Jimmy Garoppolo after Tom Brady wanted Garoppolo gone. Wickersham notes that there are some people who believe this could be Belichick’s last year with the Patriots.
And if that’s the case, will the coach remain involved with the NFL? Perhaps that is the plan, which may explain why Belichick has reportedly become “good friends” with Goodell.
But Belichick also has taken a longer view, as though he sees pieces of his impact leaguewide. He’s preparing assistant coaches for job interviews elsewhere, which he didn’t always do in years past. He has taken pride in Garoppolo’s 5-0 record in San Francisco — and in the fact that Kraft has confessed to people in the building that trading Garoppolo might have been a mistake. He reset a toxic relationship with the Colts with the Brissett trade. He has even become good friends with Goodell. The two men had a long and private meeting during the off week after the regular season, when the commissioner visited Foxborough.
Goodell has been viewed as public enemy No. 1 in New England since the Deflategate scandal erupted. The belief was that Goodell came down hard on Brady and the Patriots as a way to make amends with the other owners after he destroyed the Spygate tapes and let the organization off easy, in the eyes of some. Given all that has unfolded over the past three years, it would be a surprise if Belichick and Goodell had established a friendly relationship.
Wickersham’s assertion that Belichick and Goodell have become friends is a lot less significant than some of the other major takeaways from his story, but it should still leave Patriots fans scratching their heads.
