The New England Patriots are denying a report from ESPN.com that direct imput from owner Robert Kraft to Falcons owner Arthur Blank warned them off hiring Bill Belichick.

The ESPN column is a lengthy examination of why Belichick failed to land a head coaching job in the 2024 cycle.  The biggest bombshell in the story is the assertion that an unnamed source said, "Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill.”

It should be noted that the unnamed source did not speak directly with either owner.  The source is a “source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant.”  We're not sure that is quite enough evidence to publish the allegation but ESPN clearly disagrees.

The Patriots deny the report, via team spokesman Stacey James.  “Robert steadfastly denies saying anything negative to Arthur Blank about Bill Belichick after Robert and Bill mutually agreed to part ways,” James told ESPN.com. “In fact, Robert advocated for Bill to get the job.”

Did Kraft ever say anything negative to Blank about Belichick?

“It would not surprise me to learn that owners sometimes lament to those close to them when their teams are struggling,” James said, “but Robert Kraft never questioned Bill’s character or trust when talking with Arthur Blank. Trust is important to Robert. He wouldn’t have employed Coach Belichick for the past 24 years if he ever questioned his trust.”

Trust is a big word in this situation according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.com.  Blank needed to be able to trust Belichick’s claim that he would work with the existing power structure and not attempt to take over the organization.

But why would Kraft sabotage Belichick's effort to get the Falcons head coaching job?  Per the report, Kraft still owes Belichick $25 million, and that amount would have been offset by the money Belichick received from Blank in 2024.  “If Bill goes on to have success and Tom [Brady] already had success, then who does [Kraft] have to blame?” an unnamed source close to Belichick said.

"Regardless, Blank supposedly is smart enough to see through potentially petty motivations and other associated self-serving strategies. The bottom line is that Belichick’s mere presence would have made it very difficult for G.M. Terry Fontenot to “do his job.” While trying to make the best possible decisions about who to draft, who to sign, who to keep, who to cut, Fontenot would be listening for grunts and harrumphs and looking for eye rolls and otherwise monitoring the clues from Belichick, who could act on his disagreement with new players by simply burying them on the depth chart."

In the end, Belichick reportedly didn’t finish in anyone’s top three when Blank and his lieutenants ranked the candidates.  The team went on to hire former Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris.