Bill Belichick isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers.
The former Patriots and current North Carolina head coach has embraced chaos throughout his time in a headset. This is the man who penned a resignation letter on a napkin, sported cutoff hoodies at his pomp, and was the shadowy figure at the heart of the Spygate scandal. His high-profile relationship with Jordon Hudson, a beauty pageant contestant 50 years his junior, has slotted seamlessly into his collection of curious decisions.
So, too, does his verbal spat with Patriots' owner Robert Kraft. His former employer has wasted little time airing out grievances with the future Hall of Fame coach. Belichick responded in kind, firing off barbs with increasing regularity as the years have gone by.
With that, here's what you need to know about Belichick and Kraft's war of words, a conflict that has lasted for the better part of a decade.
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Belichick and Kraft enjoyed plenty of success during their 24-year partnership with one another. The duo collected six Super Bowls, more than any other coach-owner duo in league history.
Still, their relationship was fraught with tension. Belichick was effectively given free rein to do as he pleased in the early 2000s, but come the late 2010s, that dynamic was no more. Belichick and Kraft had ideological differences on how they saw the future, with the former looking to keep an aging (but still effective) Tom Brady under center and the latter preferring to search for a younger replacement. Kraft's vision won out, as New England opted against extending Brady long-term, precipitating his departure to the Buccaneers following the 2019 season.
Kraft's decision appeared to work when the Pats made the postseason in 2021, but the center could not hold in the forthcoming few seasons. New England plummeted down the AFC East standings, unable to find consistent play under center. Belichick certainly took his lumps during his final few years in Foxborough, making a fair few questionable moves in the draft and free agency.
Kraft is also believed to have involved himself more in backroom affairs, much to Belichick's chagrin. Whereas Belichick was once a one-man wrecking crew, by the end of his time in New England, he was relegated to collaboration with front office officials -- including Kraft's son, team president Jonathan.
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Belichick took a shot at Kraft and his son while speaking with The Boston Globe's Ben Volin earlier this week. He expressed satisfaction with the conditions of his employment at North Carolina, suggesting that they're far more conducive to success than the ones that plagued him at the end of his Patriots career.
"It's a much more cohesive, and I'd say unified, view of what we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it," Belichick said, speaking about the differences between coaching in the NFL vs. college. "It's a lot of football, and there's not much in your way.
"There's no owner, there's no owner's son. There's no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I'm all for that. But it's way less of what it was at that level."
The fraying nature of Belichick and Kraft's relationship was really on display in Belichick's final two seasons with the Patriots. Kraft reportedly designated Jerod Mayo as Belichick's successor and was apparently open about his desire to split with Belichick following the conclusion of the 2024 season.
The barbs have continued in the years since Belichick and New England parted ways. Appearing on the "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski in July, Kraft expressed that he believed he took a "big risk" to hire Belichick in 2000.
Belichick, who had already hoisted two Lombardi Trophies as a defensive coordinator with the Giants and landed a head coaching gig with the Jets prior to his arrival in Boston, disagreed.
"As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job," Belichick told Don Van Natta Jr. in July. "I already had an opportunity to be the head coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable."
Belichick and Kraft made beautiful music during their time with the Patriots, but that rhythm seems to have fallen quiet as the years have rolled on. Given Belichick's latest remarks, it's unlikely they'll be rekindling their relationship anytime soon.