Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Reportedly Sabotaged Bill Belichick's Attempt to Land Head Coaching Job

Longtime New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick began coaching in the NFL in 1975, when he got his first job as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts. He went on to win six Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and ranks second all-time in the NFL with 333 wins as a head coach.

However, when the past coaching cycle came and went, Belichick was without a job for the first time since he was fired in 1996 by the Cleveland Browns. Belichick is arguably the greatest mind in football, so it was strange that 32 teams passed him over. Not all 32 were looking for head coaches, but there were plenty of openings, including some coordinator and advisory positions where a head coach was already entrenched.

Despite not being hired, Belichick had two interviews with the Atlanta Falcons, and all signs pointed to him continuing his legacy in the South. Yet the Falcons ended up hiring Raheem Morris from the Rams to be their new head coach instead. The NFL world was dumbfounded that Belichick was passed over, even for any sort of job. Now we might know why.

A new report from ESPN goes into depth about how Belichick was not selected for the Falcons job, and it presents a story that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was somewhat behind Belichick losing his next head coaching job.

According to Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:

But in a conversation with Blank, Kraft delivered a stark assessment of Belichick's character, according to a source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant. The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, 'Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill.' That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.

Multiple sources said that Kraft spoke with 'some candor' to Blank about Belichick, though the sources declined to elaborate. One source close to Belichick said Kraft 'was a big part' of why the Falcons passed on hiring him.

Despite the story placing blame on Kraft, more was revealed about Kraft's stance on the story painting him in a negative light:

"A spokesman for Kraft strongly denied that Kraft said anything disparaging about Belichick during the owners' two phone conversations in January."

"Robert steadfastly denies saying anything negative to Arthur Blank about Bill Belichick after Robert and Bill mutually agreed to part ways," Patriots spokesman Stacey James said. "In fact, Robert advocated for Bill to get the job."

The report also details how Belichick met with Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and assumed he had done everything right to land the job. Blank hired Morris instead, and stated he was the "better fit."

The top executives in the Falcons' organization ranked the head coaching possibles, and Belichick did not finish in the top three on anyone's list. Could this have been due to Kraft speaking to Blank about Belichick's attitude toward him in the last few years of their relationship?

Kraft and Belichick were reportedly at odds with one another the last few seasons of the Patriots' run. Once Tom Brady left for the Buccaneers, the rift began to show even more.

Even if Kraft and Belichick did not like one another in the end, it sounds like Kraft might have simply been forthright with Blank about their relationship in recent years, but did not say anything outright negative about his former head coach and general manager. The situation sounds like a game of telephone; no one is coming out of this looking any better for it.

Belichick has since been making his rounds at the college circuit, showing up to talk football with schools like Washington and Nebraska. His visit with Matt Rhule at Nebraska left Rhule reeling, and it goes to show that maybe Belichick will find a job sooner rather than later.