New England Patriots book goes inside secretive and controversial franchise and Robert Kraft, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick
In the end, Tom Brady just wanted to say goodbye -- in person -- to his longtime coach. But according to a new book to be published next month, Bill Belichick said he wasn't available and insisted the two New England Patriots legends talk on the phone.
Even though Belichick told Brady that he was "the best player the league had ever seen," Brady told a friend the fact it came over the phone was "telling" about how badly the duo's relationship had deteriorated over the years. The book, "It's Better to Be Feared," by ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham, will be published Oct. 12 by Liveright Publishing. It's based on hundreds of interviews with a range of sources, including previously confidential emails, texts, game plans, scouting reports and internal New England studies -- including one in which Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods and Brady were interviewed about personality traits that fueled their greatness.
The book reveals the inner workings of the secretive and controversial Patriots franchise that dominated the NFL from 2001 to 2019 and illuminates the power dynamics between the driven, proud trio of team owner Robert Kraft, Belichick and Brady. It also explores how some of the league's biggest names inside and outside of the organization dealt with the juggernaut. The success brought out the football genius and flaws of Brady, Belichick and Kraft -- and others throughout the league, Wickersham writes.
Wickersham writes that Brady ultimately left New England not only because both Belichick and Kraft refused to commit to him until his stated goal of playing until age 45 -- it was believed that Belichick thought Brady was close to the end -- but because he wanted to be at an organization that welcomed his input rather than ignored it, something he ultimately found in Tampa Bay.
"Tom Brady had been curious if there was another way of winning, and while nobody was arguing that Bruce Arians was a better coach than Bill Belichick, or even close, the seamlessness of Brady's proficiency and performance was making his former coach's methodologies look antiquated, even silly," the book says. "It was better to be feared -- but was it necessary?"
As examples of what the dynasty wrought, Wickersham writes that Kraft once called Belichick the "biggest f----ng a--hole in my life." Bill O'Brien told a colleague he tried to get fired as coach of the Houston Texans because he thought he might be able to succeed Belichick, the book says. Belichick and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had a much closer relationship than previously known and once met secretly in a New England airplane hangar to discuss rule changes -- even as aides unsuccessfully pleaded with Goodell to drop the Deflategate inquiry, worried about the long-term damage to the league brand.
New England's historic run produced six Super Bowls in 19 years but also multiple controversies -- Spygate and Deflategate among them.
The book dives deeply into Kraft and his influence on the team and league, portraying him as an idealistic and patient leader and loyal friend to the league but also carrying a ruthlessness streak often most attributed to his head coach. In 2018, with the Pats' success and controversies wearing thin on all involved, Wickersham writes that Kraft, Brady and Belichick were trying to set aside grievances in order to remain victorious.
"Brady was tired of taking team-friendly deals with no input into how the money saved was spent -- and still wanted a long-term contractual commitment," Wickersham writes. "Belichick told associates that every organizational decision now was in support of Brady, geared toward pleasing him and making him successful -- and that Kraft meddled with the team, sometimes with opinions, sometimes with restrictive budgets.
"As for Kraft, in late September, he was in Aspen [Colorado] for a conference and bumped into a few friends in the hotel lobby early one morning. He told them he was leaving later for Detroit, where the Patriots were playing their next game. 'I hate leaving here,' Kraft said. 'You leave here and you leave some of the most brilliant people you've ever met. You pick up so much knowledge from all these brilliant minds. And I have to go to Detroit to be with the biggest f-----ng a--hole in my life -- my head coach.' "
"Bill was an idiot savant," Kraft told a confidant, according to the book, alluding to Belichick's reputation before he hired the former Cleveland Browns coach in 2000. "I gave him this opportunity."
The strain within the franchise had been coming for years, the book says. At one point years earlier, if there was an NFL franchise in Los Angeles, Brady might have tried to force a trade there, according to those close to him.
"Kraft sometimes groaned to confidants that Belichick didn't show him the respect he deserved, but he was in no rush for life after him," Wickersham writes. "Brady, though, seemed ready for it. ... 'I don't want to play for Bill anymore,' he told people close to him in 2017."
Ultimately, according to the book, Kraft, Brady and a few others discussed scenarios about who would replace Belichick. If offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left after the season to be a head coach elsewhere, New England could hire O'Brien and he could perhaps one day succeed Belichick.
"The plan was fanciful," Wickersham writes, "but O'Brien heard about it. He was in a power struggle of his own in Houston, fighting with general manager Rick Smith, a 'dysfunctional' and 'toxic' situation, according to the Houston Chronicle. The leaks from O'Brien's camp, claiming he wanted out, were so aggressive as to be suspicious, as if he knew he had a golden parachute. In the end, though, the [Texans] chose O'Brien over Smith, giving the coach more control over football operations. O'Brien later joked to a confidant that it was a somewhat empty victory. 'I was trying to get fired,' he said."
Kraft, Brady, Belichick and the Patriots declined to be interviewed by Wickersham for the book, but they are quoted from on-the-record interviews with the author from the past two decades. The Patriots did not respond to requests for comment on this story, though Belichick did respond to a question Wednesday at his regular news conference about whether he didn't want to meet in person with Brady.
"No, that's not true," he said. "There are a few things about this book; it sounds like it's a lot of second, third and fourth-hand comments. I'm not going to get into that. I'm going to focus on this game and try to prepare for the Bucs."
Among other findings in "It's Better To Be Feared":