There is bound to be some lingering tension in New England after a Patriots’ season that featured some reported power struggles and ended with a bitter loss in the Super Bowl, and Robert Kraft hinted that some of that was addressed in a recent meeting he had with his Hall of Fame coach and quarterback.
While speaking with reporters from the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Kraft confirmed that he has met with Belichick and Brady since the end of the season. The Patriots owner did, however, downplay the significance.
Kraft said he had a meeting with Brady and Belichick, but downplayed it. “We have meetings all the time. … The residual of this loss was hard on everyone. But I see that as a high class problem.”
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) March 26, 2018
Patriots owner Robert Kraft on meeting with Brady and Belichick: “Yes, we’ve had the meeting. And just to be clear, we have meetings all the time. We’re not a big bureaucratic organization.”
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 26, 2018
It had previously been reported that Brady, Kraft and Belichick would have a “clear the air” meeting after what was apparently a tumultuous season, so Kraft is probably understating the importance a bit.
Kraft was also asked about Belichick’s controversial decision to bench Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl, and he stood by the coach without saying much about the situation.
Robert Kraft said if Bill Belichick made an error coaching “for the right reason” he has no issue with it, speaking in relation to Butler
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) March 26, 2018
While Kraft said very little about Butler’s benching, reporters got a lot more out of him than they got out of Belichick recently.
The Patriots have plenty of question marks heading into the 2018 season, but no organization in sports has been better at limiting outside distractions and focusing on winning. That mentality has always started with Kraft.
