Analyzing what Robert Kraft had to say about parting with Belichick, the future

FOXBOROUGH — Robert Kraft took questions from the media for about 20 minutes — he promised to talk about the future in the coming days. He's the best of what he had to said, along with our thoughts on it:

On why part with Belichick now?

"Well, the last three years have been pretty tough, I know for our dedicated fans and myself. In life, I just learned things happen, and our family is the custodian of this asset – the New England Patriots – and we know how important it is to the psyche of the community. And, what's gone on here the last three, four years isn't what we want, so we have a responsibility to do what we can to fix it to the best of our ability."

On if he wanted to trade Belichick

"I guess if you look at this as a transaction, he is so valuable. In how we could extract something, I didn't think that was right. I didn't think it was right for Tom Brady, who gave us 20 years, and I don't think it's right for Bill. But, I think each of them earned the right to be in a position where they should do what's right for them, given what they ha ve done for this franchise. So, some people might criticize me for not extracting as much value, and I understand that, but we just try to do what we think is right for the proper values and ability to operate and try to get people who want to come and feel that we're going to treat them fairly."

Did Kraft have any reservations making this call?

"That’s a good question. This is a results business, and certain things in life, it's instinctual. I think both of us felt that the time was right for each of us to go off in our separate directions. ... The last few days since Monday, since we've been thinking about it and talking about it, I think our relationship went to a new place, because, this is very hard. It’s like a marriage, and things don't always go great. And, you get through the difficult times, and it makes the relationship stronger. I think we had a chance to do that over the last almost quarter of a century. So, I think both of us felt that at this point in time, it was in our mutual interest to each go our own way. But, knowing that we have that bond and foundation, it's really hard in this business to create – very hard."

On whether there was thought given to adjust Belichick's personnel control

"Yeah, we thought about that, but, I've had experience running different businesses and trying to develop a team. Think about it, when you have someone like Bill, who's had control over every decision, every coach we hire, the organization reports to him on the draft, and how much money we spend. Every decision has been his, and we've always supported him. To then take some of that power away and give it to someone else –  accountability is important to me in every one of our companies, and where he had the responsibility and then someone else takes it, it's going to set up confusion. And, ‘It was his pick and that was a bad pick’, or ‘He didn't play them right’. It just wouldn't work, in my opinion."

Did Belichick have too much power?

"Just to be clear, he didn't have all that power and rights. I don't think it happened until after the third Super Bowl, but it slowly happened, and, in my opinion, he earned it. And, it worked pretty well for most of the time. But, all of us need checks and balances in our life. We need what I say – I call it, we need doctor ‘no’s’ around us, people to protect ourselves from ourselves, protect us from ourselves. And, as things evolve and you get more power, sometimes people are afraid to speak up. I'm speaking about all companies. I think it's good to have checks and balances, but once you have it, it's kind of hard to pull it away and expect to have the accountability you want."

In your mind, why did this team fall to three losing seasons in four years and 4-13?

"Well, I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer that. You might be better than I. I don't know. So many games were close. Is it the coaching? Is it the personnel? Something isn't quite right from where it was. And I'm not smart enough, I think, to give you a credible answer."

Did Kraft and Belichick have any discussions about his future during the season?

"This is a business that you have to wait until the season's over. You can't be a fan when you have the responsibility of making strategic decisions that aren't short-term or what I call transactional based on one incident. And, you know, you change. You change your mind. Things change so fast. I mean, look at some teams in the league who started out so hot, then they lose five or six games. The thing with Bill that was unique and special is his work ethic is so strong. That's what I looked at. He always gave us the best he had. There wasn't a shortage of effort. Now, whether he has the right people around him or selected the right players, that we all can make judgment on. But he was always giving it his all, and that's what was most important to me."

What Kraft has learned from Belichick

"The thing that always amazed me with him, and I get exposed to a lot of people, is he's the only person I've met with the football intellect and the knowledge. I think part of that went back to his dad and the training he got, but also how he absorbed it as a little kid, watching film with his dad. But what I saw in ‘96, when he got fired by the Browns and Bill Parcell said, ‘You should go out and meet him, he's going to go to Miami, and we should get him here,’ because he had worked with him at the Giants and said how good he was. ... I thought to myself, here's a guy who can relate to the players at that level, but also has the football intellect and understands the economics of the game, because most coaches coming into the mid-90s and late-90s didn't know how to put value, coming into a salary cap where you had the parity of budgets. He had the greatest ability to relate the two things. Now I think a lot of his contemporaries, younger contemporaries, have caught up with some of that. But, I don't think there's anyone like him that has the composite of knowledge. So, that always impressed me. And then he can pull something out of the air and quote, 30 years ago, some play and some game. For those of us that have some short-term memory lapses, that really impressed me.

Are the Patriots going to hire a GM first?

"We'll have a chance to talk about that in the very near future."

Did Belichick fight for his job?

"I have a saying, when I'm making important decisions, I try to ‘measure nine times and cut once’, because you want to be sure. This is one of those times we went through the season we went through, which is three seasons like this, and you realize how capable he is. You know, you try to understand why you wound up where you are, and it just is something that it was best we each moved on. I think that's what the last three, four days of taking the time to figure it out allowed us to do."

What he's looking for in a new coach?

"I'll just say we're looking for someone who can help us get back to the playoffs and win. Believe me, after my family, this is really one of the two most important assets in my life. I am very upset when we don't win games. It carries the whole week. So, I promise you I'll be focused to do the best I can do to make sure we're putting ourselves in the best long-term position to win for many years."

BEDARD'S ANALYSIS

From sources behind the scenes around Gillette the past few days, the happy face Belichick and Kraft put on was not just for show. Belichick was in a really good place following his discussions with Kraft about how to part ways. I don't know if a burden had been lifted or if he has something lined up and is just excited about change — I think change is good for everyone, can reinvigorate you — but Belichick was content.

I mean, all the wins, titles, Super Bowl appearances ... I'd say job freaking well done. He should be content.

Maybe he was just happy to hear that you are free to go wherever and here's a $25-million check.

Obviously Kraft referenced the last three years a few times — interesting since it was only the last year that was truly terrible, two if you wanted to group them together. Kraft unknowingly set a precedent. So if the next three years are similar, is Jerod Mayo (or whoever else ... yeah, right) shown the door? Or maybe Kraft did know what he was doing. Pete Carroll went 10-6 (won division, a playoff game), 9-7 (lost playoff game) and 8-8 (last place) and got fired. The clock starts. 

Sounds like they tossed around the idea of Belichick no longer having complete personnel say, but both didn't think that was going to be fruitful for anyone — and they were right. I think Kraft was having flashbacks to Bobby Grier.

I hope Kraft was telling the truth about letting Belichick free, similar to Brady. I mean, that is the right thing to do.

It was quite obvious that Kraft felt like Belichick had too much power and, in recent years, didn't have enough people to tell him "No" around him. The people that were here, were afraid to speak up. That wasn't good for Belichick or the team.

Surprised Kraft wasn't able to answer my question a little bit better — if you're moving on from Belichick and starting anew, you should know where the problems were so you can fix them. He had talked about the drafts before. I figured he would go there. Maybe he was just being nice. 

Thought it was interesting Kraft basically said that while Belichick was ahead of his time for a while, the rest of the league had caught up to him if not passed him. Patriots were playing catchup.