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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a recent comment that caught Bill Belichick’s eye.
Kraft said that hiring Belichick in 1999 was the best decision that he made as the Patriots owner but added that hiring Belichick was a “big risk.”
“The one that got questioned the most was in 1999,” Kraft said last month during an appearance on “Dudes on Dudes” with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.
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North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick speaks to the media at the Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)
“I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach that had only won a little over 40% of his games to get him out. I don’t know if there are any Jets fans here. I think getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston area, but he was with us for 24 years,” Kraft said.
Belichick responded to Kraft’s comments, and said that taking the Patriots head coaching job was a “big risk.”
“As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick said in a statement to ESPN.
“I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”
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Head coach Bill Belichick, left, of the New England Patriots shakes hands with owner Robert Kraft during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“The Jets were a solid team after three years of rebuilding under Bill Parcells, which included an AFC Championship Game appearance in (January) 1999.
“Meanwhile, the Patriots Organization had dismantled their 1996 AFC Championship team and became one of the worst in the AFC. It didn’t help that they were $10 million over the cap heading into my first season as Head Coach in 2000.”
The North Carolina head coach said that prior to taking the head coaching position, he was “warned” about “internal obstacles.”
“I had been warned by multiple previous Patriots’ coaches, as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media, that the New England job was going to come with many internal obstacles,” Belichick said. “I made it clear that we would have to change the way the team was managed to regain the previously attained success.”
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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, left, and head coach Bill Belichick look on from the sideline before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Despite the warnings he received, Belichick went on to have one of the most successful runs in NFL history with the Patriots. The Patriots went 266-121 under Belichick, with six Super Bowl titles, 13 AFC Championship Game appearances and 17 AFC East titles.
“I appreciated Robert (Kraft) giving me the opportunity to make those changes and build a program that was consistent with my vision for a championship team,” Belichick said.
Despite Belichick being at the forefront of the Patriots’ success, the 73-year-old is still not in the Patriots Hall of Fame.
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