ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham's Patriots book, "It's Better to Be Feared," will be released next month, but some excerpts from the book were released on Wednesday morning.
The book details the inner workings of the Patriots over the years, focusing heavily on Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft and Tom Brady.
One of the details shared was Kraft once referring to Belichick as "the "biggest f----ng a--hole in my life." Along those same lines, former Texans head coach Bill O'Brien told a colleague he tried to get fired so he could potentially replace Belichick.
Here's an excerpt, which took place in 2018: "As for Kraft, in late September, he was in Aspen (Colorado) for a conference and bumped into a few friends in the hotel lobby early one morning. He told them he was leaving later for Detroit, where the Patriots were playing their next game. 'I hate leaving here,' Kraft said. 'You leave here and you leave some of the most brilliant people you've ever met. You pick up so much knowledge from all these brilliant minds. And I have to go to Detroit to be with the biggest f-----ng a--hole in my life -- my head coach.'"
According to the book, Kraft has told people Belichick did not show him the respect he deserves and "Bill was an idiot savant," referring to him following his days in Cleveland.
Here's how O'Brien tried to get fired in Houston, from the book: "The plan was fanciful, but O'Brien heard about it. He was in a power struggle of his own in Houston, fighting with general manager Rick Smith, a 'dysfunctional' and 'toxic' situation, according to the Houston Chronicle. The leaks from O'Brien's camp, claiming he wanted out, were so aggressive as to be suspicious, as if he knew he had a golden parachute. In the end, though, the [Texans] chose O'Brien over Smith, giving the coach more control over football operations. O'Brien later joked to a confidant that it was a somewhat empty victory. 'I was trying to get fired,' he said."
One other non-Belichick, Brady, Kraft note from Wickersham related to Super Bowl LII against the Eagles and Malcolm Butler being benched. The book says Butler and then defensive coordinator Matt Patricia "traded heated words at practice" that week over his lack of effort.
After the game when Butler was asked by teammates why he didn't play, he responded, "These dudes," referring to the coaches, "these mother f---ers."
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