Bill Belichick has been the coach of the New England Patriots for 24 years. During that time, he brought (6) Super Bowl titles to our team. Like many of you, all I’ve known growing up was watching him lead teams that were nearly a shoe-in for the playoffs, and real contenders for the Lombardi Trophy. Over the past few seasons, however, Patriots fans have been seeing performance that mirrors the pre-Belichick era. That’s while it was still shocking to see Belichick leaving the Patriots, it wasn’t a surprise. There has been much speculation about what has happened to the team, the relationship between Belichick and Kraft, and whether Belichick can effectively serve as both General Manager and Head Coach. Those are all things which I don’t have any knowledge of or expertise in, so we will leave them to people who do. What I would like to talk about, however, is how the two ended their relationship, and what leaders and businesses can learn from it.
In watching the 9-minute press conference that the two jointly held on Thursday, January 11, 2024, I couldn’t help but notice five things:
- It was obvious that Belichick followed his own mantra of “Do Your job” until the very end. He always said that he did what was best for the team, and it became clear that he acknowledged it was best for the team (and likely himself) that he no longer coach the New England Patriots. Leaders who are willing to lay aside their egos for what is best for the team are common in word, but rare in deed. If there was any doubt whether Belichick has integrity in this area, I think that issue is now resolved.
- Robert Kraft has a healthy understanding of what it means to be CEO of the New England Patriots. He referred to his family as “custodians” several times during his remarks, implying that they have the role as steward, and are ultimately accountable to the fans for performance. He mentioned the National Football League being a “results-based business” and he wasn’t willing to allow his sentimentality to get in the way of the fact that his head coach was not getting the desired results.
- Belichick left graciously, and showed a bit of emotion that none of us have become accustomed to seeing from him. When addressing the fans, there was a slight quicker in his voice when he talked about their support, particularly at “the send offs”. He wished the team well, and declared, “I’ll always be a Patriot”. I think that this demonstrates that Belichick likely has more emotional intelligence than many gave him credit for.
- Robert Kraft, when asked if he thought he could have traded Belichick to get compensation said that his family believed in playing the long game. To trade Bill after all the years of service he gave New England didn’t fit that value. Kraft remained committed to his tenet of building long term relationships with his employees, even when it wasn’t convenient for him. That’s a hallmark sign of a core value, something we are willing to do when it doesn’t benefit us.
- There are such things as “necessary endings.” Henry Cloud wrote a book about this topic, and sometimes, for reasons that aren’t obvious, a season has ended and a new one must begin. It’s not easy to make that decision, and nostalgia, ego, and fear often get in the way of necessary endings taking place. In this instance, Kraft and Belichick showed that they were mature adults and consummate professionals who were able to do what was in their mutual best interests. And what makes it even more remarkable is that they were able to wish one another well as they ended it. In a world that is polarized and is always acting from a heightened position of “you are either for me or against me,” Robert Kraft embraced his former head coach who he had just decided to separate with. I suspect that Kraft’s comments later in the day about he and Bill’s relationship actually going to another level through this process are entirely true.
Kraft and Belichick achieved extraordinary results together for the past two-plus decades. On Thursday, I suspect we got some insights into the reasoning why these two men had as much success as they did together – consummate professionals, committed to the team, and willing to confront the brutal facts without losing their humanity.