Former Patriots safeties Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison weren’t pleased with Apple TV+’s “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” documentary, which delved into the past 20 years of the franchise that included six Super Bowl titles.
McCourty — who spent his entire 13-season career in New England and won three Super Bowls with now-retired quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bill Belichick — said he felt “duped” after watching the 10-part docuseries because it only touched on the team’s lows.
“I felt like I got kind of duped,” McCourty, who was interviewed for and appears in the series, said according to ProFootball Talk. “I was like man, this is going to be great — the storytelling, we’re talking about this and that. Everything that we all gave to the 20 years that it encompassed, they only hit anything that was negative.
“We won at a high level and guys stayed there. I could’ve left two times, [but] I signed back. There are reasons why.”
McCourty, a New Jersey native, was the Patriots’ first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft.
The former Rutgers product went on to earn two Pro Bowl selections and three second-team All-Pro honors before calling it a career in March 2023. McCourty has since joined NFL Network as an analyst.
Harrison, who played a key role in the Patriots’ defense that won back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 2003 and ’04 seasons, wasn’t happy with the series, either.
“It didn’t tell the stories like of me coming, and [his former teammate, running back] Corey Dillon. I interviewed for five or six hours in New York and all they had me saying was, ‘F–k em’ all, f–k em’ all.’ That’s it,” he said.
Harrison was referring to the fourth episode of the series that covered Spygate in 2007, when it was discovered the Patriots were videotaping the Jets’ sideline signals and Belichick was fined $500,000.
The 51-year-old Harrison went on to defend Belichick, whom he believed didn’t get enough credit for being a great coach.
“They act like the last three or four years because the Patriots have struggled that Bill can’t coach,” he said. “Bill made some mistakes and he wasn’t always the nicest or the purest guy, but at the end of the day, he always did whatever he had to do to make the team better.
“Think about this: He gave me an opportunity, a fifth-round draft choice. He gave Tom Brady an opportunity. He sent out a $100 million quarterback when no one thought it was popular and started Tom Brady. … He gives guys who are the underdog an opportunity. No one talks about that.
“When everybody else is done with a guy, he brings in a Corey Dillon, he brings in a Randy Moss, he brings in a Rodney Harrison. And I just don’t think that he got enough credit, enough respect, enough props, man. This dude is the greatest coach of all-time.”
Harrison announced his retirement from football in June 2009 and transitioned to broadcasting with NBC Sports.
Apple TV+’s “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” also focused on Deflategate — when Brady was suspended for four games in 2016 for allegedly instructing the deflation of footballs used in the 2014 AFC Championship game — and the late Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
The docuseries also covered the Patriots’ historic overtime 34-28 win against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI in February 2017 — and the eventual divorce between Brady and Belichick three years later, when the quarterback took his talents to the Buccaneers.
Belichick, 71, and the Patriots mutually parted ways in January after 24 seasons.
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