Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft approached the podium inside the New England Patriots’ team meeting room Thursday with the look of two men at peace. Maybe it was because each guy got what he wanted—Kraft the elegant conclusion to the Belichick era and Belichick the freedom to go write the last chapter to the NFL’s greatest coaching legacy somewhere else.
But the idea that the two reached this place—where the right decision clearly for everyone was to turn the page—just this week would defy any sort of logic you want to apply to the situation.
Two months ago the Patriots landed in Germany with their season circling the drain, and Kraft hoping he could salvage yet another championship iteration with the Belichick era hanging by a thread. New England was 2–7 with a struggling young quarterback, a roster devoid of much hope for the future, a divided coaching staff and an owner who’d looked forward for months to the opportunity to bring his brand to a country where he’d worked hard to gain a foothold.
