Sportsnaut
Bill Belichick, new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, highlighted the differences between NFL and college coaching, emphasizing a purer focus on football.
In doing so, the legendary coach mentioned that it’s somewhat easier to work without distractions like owners. Or marketing. But mostly owners.
“It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it,” Belichick told The Boston Globe this week. “It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way.”
That’s when he laid into Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan, without ever mentioning their names.
“There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son,” he continued. “There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level.”
Damn: Bill Belichick continues to take shots at #Patriots Owner Robert Kraft.
Bill Belichick on the differences between coaching in NFL vs College:
“It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way… there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/PzYqS6qHAS
— JPA (@jasrifootball) August 21, 2025
On the one hand, Belichick’s shot at Kraft is funny. Especially when you consider he was run out of town in a rushed transition to a new, younger coach in Jerod Mayo. (Come to think of it, being forced out for a younger coach may explain some of ‘The Hoodie’s’ girlfriend issues, but I digress).
Mayo’s only season as Patriots coach resulted in disaster. The team went 4-13, despite winning their final regular-season game against the mighty Buffalo Bills.
Mayo was fired immediately after the game.
After his dismissal, Belichick took a jab at Kraft and his son, derisively referring to Mayo as his “hand-picked successor” and noting that the two haven’t called him for advice.
“Mayo was hand-picked by Robert, but in the end, the decision-making is something they’d have to comment on,” Belichick said. “I really don’t know from the outside looking in. They haven’t called me and asked, so I don’t know.”
"I don't have too much of a comment on the Patriots situation..
They have their decision makers and Mayo was handpicked by Robert Kraft..
They haven't called me and asked" 😂😂
Coach Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0zFLFep0ie
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 6, 2025
Which brings us to the other side of the coin. While it might feel nice to take a jab at the Patriots owner, it’s not something that will reflect well on Belichick when he’s trying desperately to get back to the NFL.
Why would an owner want to hire you, knowing that you view them as a burden to your focus on...
