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COMMENTARY
That’s it? Twenty-four years of wondering how it was going to end and we got prepared statements? J.J. Abrams has concocted better conclusions than what we got from the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Head coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft have “amicably” decided that the “best thing for everybody” was to “cordially” part ways after a quarter-century that helped deliver six Super Bowl titles to Foxborough. It was a harmonious decision, Robert Kraft said, mentioning once or twice about how “collaborative” Bill was in the decision to fire himself. I half-expect them to start selling “mutual” emblazoned hoodies in the Patriots Pro Shop by tomorrow morning.
The noontime briefing with the media was awkward, with reason. How do you say goodbye and thank you for all Belichick has done without really addressing the issue that he was fired? Does Robert really want us to believe that he and Bill sat around at Davio’s this week coming to an agreement that the best decision for the team was for Bill to surrender his job? And how do you ask Belichick about a future when it’s one he’s probably still securing for himself. (The feeling here is, San Diego. Yes, I know.)
Kraft’s meeting with the media two hours later offered at least some insight into the decision to “move on” from Belichick, but the owner opened his own, separate press conference by noting that he would answer only questions about Bill and not the future, which will be addressed “in the very near future.”
Which is all another way of saying, “I’ve lost my final line of defense.” Because now, if the Patriots remain on the path they’ve put themselves on the last four years, neither Tom Brady nor Bill Belichick are there to take the heat when things go wrong.
