Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will attend the induction ceremony of former quarterback Tom Brady into the Patriots Hall of Fame at Gillette Stadium Wednesday (June 12) night, the Athletic's Chad Graf reported on Monday (June 10).
Belichick, 72, who coached Brady for 20 seasons, and team owner Robert Kraft will both speak on Brady's behalf toward the end of the ceremony before the seven-time Super Bowl champion addresses the crowd. Belichick's reported attendance comes months after he was fired by Kraft in January.
Last month, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman and quarterback Drew Bledsoe addressed the "real" tension between Belichick and Kraft during The Roast of Tom Brady on an episode of Edelman's Games with Names podcast.
Edelman said Belichick was "opening up" while reminiscing with him and several other former Patriots players backstage before Kraft, 82, walked into the room.
“The tension in that room though… could cut f**king glass,” Edelman said.
“It was very real, it was very real,” Bledsoe responded. “Belichick’s kind of holding court, while as he’s in the middle of this story, Kraft walks in and you guys all go over to say hi to Kraft. The last man standing, to hear him tell it, is my bro. He’s like, ‘Well, Bill’s telling this story, if I leave then he’s telling the story to nobody because everybody is saying hi to Kraft.’”
Belichick, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl wins in 24 seasons, was fired by Kraft after a 4-13 season and last place finish in the AFC East in 2023. Many fans and reporters acknowledged that the legendary coach was portrayed unfavorably in the Apple TV+ docuseries The Dynasty, which was produced by Kraft's company, prior to the Brady roast.
“Of course [Belichick] didn’t f**king see it,” Edelman said after claiming he tried to subtly warn the coach of the owner's presence. “[Kraft] didn’t see it, and I was like, ‘Oh s–t, this is going to be some fireworks,’ I just walked away. I didn’t want to be in there.”
During the roast, host Kevin Hart attempted to get Belichick and Kraft to reconcile by taking a shot.
“I want to say this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that no one else has done,” Kraft said while holding up the shot glass. “And having Tom Brady and him was the greatest honor the good lord gave me, so cheers!”
In April, ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Jeremy Fowler reported in a detailed piece that Kraft attempted to "warn" Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank "not to trust" Belichick when he was being considered for the Falcons' vacancy earlier in the offseason. Belichick was reported to have interviewed for the Falcons' job -- which was eventually given to Raheem Morris -- multiple times after parting ways with the Patriots.
A source reported to be close to Kraft told ESPN that the Patriots owner "found Bill to be extremely difficult and obstinate and kind of stubborn and, in the end, not worthy of his trust," as well as "very, very, very arrogant," though a spokesperson for Kraft denied the disparaging remarks. Belichick reportedly had zero knowledge of Kraft's phone call with Blank and expected to be hired for the Falcons' head coaching job before the team revealed its decision to hire Morris on January 25.
Belichick is the third-winningest coach in NFL history and one of seven NFL head coaches to have spent more than 20 years with one franchise following George Halas (40) of the Chicago Bears, Curly Lambeau (29) of the Green Bay Packers, Tom Landry (29) of the Dallas Cowboys, Don Shula (26) of the Miami Dolphins, Steven Owen (24) of the New York Giants and Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of whom have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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