The relationship between Bill Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft seems to have deteriorated quite a bit in recent years, and Belichick is barely trying to hide that at this point.
In an awkward and wide-ranging interview with Tony Dokoupil of “CBS Mornings” that aired on Sunday, Belichick was asked about Kraft not being mentioned in the North Carolina coach’s new book “The Art of Winning,” which goes on sale May 6. Belichick had a telling response.
“Well, again, it’s about my life lessons in football and it’s really more about the ones that I experienced directly,” Belichick said.
Dokoupil then mentioned how Kraft is not even in the book’s “acknowledgements” section, which includes a whopping 363 people. Belichick simply replied “he’s not.”
That led to a follow-up question about whether Belichick felt he was “treated with dignity and respect” when he parted ways with the Patriots following the 2023 season.
“Well, it was a mutual decision for us to part ways. It was a mutual decision,” Belichick said.
Bill Belichick sounds off on leaving Robert Kraft out of his book and his departure from New England. 😳
— theScore (@theScore) April 27, 2025
(🎥: @CBSSunday) pic.twitter.com/9XHjJU2dCf
Belichick has always been extremely careful with the media. If he wanted people to think his relationship with Kraft is on solid ground, there are countless other ways he could have answered those questions.
Many fans were hoping that Belichick would use his book to issue a response to the way he was portrayed in the AppleTV+ docuseries “The Dynasty,” which was released last year. Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, was painted in a negative light in the documentary. Kraft has denied having any editorial input or control, but each episode ended with a message that said “Copyright Kraft Dynasty LLC.”
Instead, Belichick simply did not mention Kraft at all in the book. That speaks volumes.
Belichick and Kraft took part in a toast together at the Netflix roast of Tom Brady last year, but it sounds like they were just playing nice for the cameras. Reports indicated that there was an obvious tension between the two during the event.
