The highly-anticipated ESPN story written by Seth Wickersham titled, "For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end?," was published at 1 a.m. Friday.
It is a very in-depth piece, which states a lot of what has already been discussed in recent weeks when it comes to the Patriots, but gives more of a chronological timeline and gives more detail than what has already been out there. The piece details the power struggle between Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Robert Kraft. Most of it centers around Brady's relationship with his personal trainer Alex Guerrero, and his role and impact on the team, as well as how the Jimmy Garoppolo trade went down. It ends with questioning whether this could be Belichick's last season as coach of the Patriots, as he no longer wants to deal with Guerrero/Brady and interference from ownership as it relates to football matters.
No Patriots would go on record for the story and the only statement the team made was there are "several inaccuracies and multiple examples given that absolutely did not occur." Wickersham wrote the team declined to go into detail on any inaccuracies or examples that didn't happen, but he claims to have talked to more than a dozen New England staffers, executives, players and league sources for the story.
It does have its flaws, but there's no doubt a lot of what was written is true.
Here are the highlights from the piece, which is all reported by Wickersham.
-- Until the past few years, Brady apparently never had an interest of pushing the TB12 Method and making it a major part of his future, but Guerrero persuaded Brady to find time for more than family and football. People inside Gillette Stadium didn't have an issue with the TB12 Method, just questioned how it could absolve football of responsibility for injury. The TB12 Method was described as "a cult." The TB12 Method and Guerrero's presence in Brady's life also forced some to worry about the quarterback. "Tom changed," a friend of Brady said. "That's where a lot of these problems started."
-- Brady working with Guerrero created pressure within the organization of who should players work out with -- Guerrero and Brady, or the Patriots training staff? Players who wanted Brady's trust felt like they needed to work with Guerrero. Guerrero said players had always decided whether or not to work with him on their own.
-- Some insight into Guerrero's work with the Patriots was revealed. In 2013, Belichick allowed him into the facility, giving him free rein in the building and also access to meetings where medical records of players were discussed, although Guerrero denies ever seeing any records. The coach believed Guerrero had Brady's best interest in mind, which he figured meant the same for the Patriots. After Guerrero questioned Patriots training methods causing injuries, Belichick realized he may have made a mistake. In 2014, he took away his access to these meetings, but kept him around as a team consultant.
-- With Brady being 40 years old and being the best quarterback to ever play the game, his stature in the organization is so big that apparently new players call Brady, "sir." Brady's power also meant power for Guerrero. Brady apparently pushed the TB12 Method, which centers around resistance band work over traditional methods. Brady would say, "Bill's answer to everything is to lift more weights."
-- In early September of this year, Belichick explained to Brady that younger players felt pressure to train at TB12 instead of with the team. Brady told Belichick he had no idea where that was coming from and the meeting ended with no resolution. This forced Belichick to email Guerrero to tell him he could still work with players at TB12, but he could no longer get access to the sideline or team headquarters because he isn't part of the team. Guerrero then texted several players who he was working with and said he would need to start treating them at the TB12 Center, just steps from the Gillette Stadium facility, and insinuated that Belichick wouldn't allow him to work with them at all. This was Guerrero's way of trying to pin Patriots players against Belichick.
-- This year hasn't been like any other year for Brady when it comes to Belichick and his hard coaching. It started last year in the playoffs when Belichick apparently ripped Brady for his play in the divisional round win over the Texans, a game in which the quarterback went 18-for-38 passing. Brady told people that Belichick's negativity and cynicism have gotten old and he noted Belichick hasn't given him Patriot of the Week at all this season.
-- The Patriots' private evaluations of Brady see signs of slippage despite him likely winning the MVP this year. It pointed to a play late in the Chargers game when instead of throwing to his first read deep, Brady threw over the middle to Chris Hogan and forced him into taking a big hit, which has forced him to miss considerable time with a shoulder injury. "Tom was trying to get it out quick," a Patriots staffer said. "As fragility has increased, nervousness has also increased."
-- Last season when Garoppolo injured his shoulder in Week 2, he set up an appointment at TB12, but the center was locked and he couldn't get in touch with anyone. Garoppolo got in two weeks after his original appointment and apparently after a high-ranking Patriots official made a phone call to the center asking why Garoppolo hadn't been seen. Guerrero denies ever refusing to see any player.
-- Belichick and Roger Goodell have become "good friends." The two had a long and private meeting after the commissoner came to Foxboro during the off week after the regular season.
-- In 2016, Kraft and Brady's agent, Don Yee, began negotiating a new contract. Belichick and other Patriots staffers had to abruptly leave the NFL combine so they could be back in Foxboro to be part of the process. Brady's two-year contract, with a $28 million signing bonus, could have made Brady expendable in 2018 with a $22 million cap hit if it made sense then to move on to Garoppolo.
-- Several times in October, Brady met with both Kraft and Belichick to let them know of his plans to play into his mid 40s. Belichick was skeptical of a long-term contract extension, but was content in starting Brady as long as he was the best quarterback. The meeting ended with a "little blowup."
-- Belichick did not want to trade Garoppolo. In fact, the Patriots repeatedly offered Garoppolo four-year contract extensions, in the $17 million to $18 million range, which could go higher each year if he succeeded Brady. Garoppolo and his agent, also Yee, rejected the offers and the Patriots knew they couldn't make any promises to Garoppolo about the timing of taking over at quarterback without it getting back to Brady.
-- Two weeks before the trade deadline, Belichick met with Kraft about what to do at quarterback. The meeting ran long and forced other team meetings to be pushed back as well. This created tons of buzz within the building and the meeting ended with a mandate of Belichick needing to trade Garoppolo and then find a new quarterback via the draft. According to Belichick's friends, after the meeting he was furious and demoralized. Belichick eventually traded Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick, which left coaches stunned at the low return. Belichick didn't explain the trade and buried the staff so deep in work that they didn't have time to gossip.
-- Kraft, Brady and Belichick were supposed to meet in December to clear the air, but it never happened. It likely won't happen until after the season. There is apparently a sadness around the team and coaches who feel the end may be near. Coordinators Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels are likely to leave for head-coaching jobs and other assistants could follow, take other jobs, or even retire. As for Belichick, some wonder if at 65 years old he will want to rebuild his coaching staff and find a new quarterback, all while dealing with the Guerrero/Brady drama.
-- Belichick had a vision to go out setting the Patriots up for the future at quarterback, having his sons Steve and Brian on the staff and established, and the winning tradition to continue, but some on staff believe the New Year's Eve win over the Jets could have been his last regular-season game as coach of the Patriots.
