Robert Kraft shares his ‘best decision’ as Patriots owner

Robert Kraft has seen plenty go right for the Patriots since he first took over as the franchise’s owner in 1994.

But, over a 31-year stretch where New England established itself as one of the top dynasties in NFL history, Kraft believes one decision stands above the rest when it came to orchestrating that string of success.

During an interview with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski as part of the duo’s “Dudes on Dudes” podcast, Kraft didn’t mince words when asked about the “best decision” he’s ever made for New England.

“The one that got questioned the most was in ’99,” Kraft told Edelman. “I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach who had only won a little over 40 percent of his games, to get him out … I think getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston media. But he was with us for 24 years, and we did OK.”

Even with the risk involved in surrendering a first-round pick for a head coach with a losing record at that stage of his career (36-44), the Patriots and Kraft

benefited tremendously by plucking Belichick from the Jets.

During his 24 seasons as Patriots head coach, Belichick led New England to six Super Bowl championships, nine total appearances in the Super Bowl, 13 AFC Championship Game appearances, and 17 AFC East division titles.

Despite achieving plenty of success together, both Belichick and Kraft ended on poor terms after the former “mutually parted ways” with the organization after the 2023 season.

Even with Belichick’s exit from New England was described by the franchise as a “mutual” decision, Kraft changed his tune in October 2024 when pressed on why the future Hall-of-Fame coach had to go.

“I kept him for 24 years,” Kraft said

during an appearance on “The Breakfast Club”.

“I didn’t enjoy having to fire him, but I tried to do it — if you look at the press conference and how it happened, tried to do it in a classy way.”

“What he did for us was great. People need to adapt,” Kraft added. “People need to adapt and if they don’t, things can change. In life, it’s about getting good chemistry and trust and I feel that our record the last three or four years wasn’t what I wanted.”

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.