Aside from the momentous news of Bill Belichick’s departure from the New England Patriots in January, the main newsworthy talking point for the New England Patriots has concerned one thing: “The Dynasty”.
The Apple + docuseries that goes behind the scenes of the New England Patriots’ 20 year mega-dynasty, in which the Pats went to a total 9 Super Bowls – almost 1 every 2 years – winning 6 of them.
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Whilst the critics have applauded the show, many fans, especially Boston sports fans, have been quick to note about the perhaps biased storytelling from producer, Brian Glazer and director, Matthew Hamacheck.
Part of this could well come from the well-noted close relationship between Glazer and Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, who many argue has his role in the dynasty exaggerated as the “glue” that kept ever battling forces; Bill Belichick and Tom Brady; together for two decades, in order to attain a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In doing so, and in borderline “trashing” Belichick- certainly on account of his head coach’s character – Kraft has been criticized by NFL fanbases across the league. Moreover, former New England Patriots alum have come out mentioning how their words were, to some extent, taken out of context.
Super Bowl-winning All Pro safeties, Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison both expressed distaste with how “The Dynasty” seemed to be spliced together to follow a predetermined narrative, per Pro Football Talk.
Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison on The Dynasty series. pic.twitter.com/syG12yvmyA
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 19, 2024
Patriots Stars Speak Out Against “The Dynasty” Storyline And Focus
Rodney Harrison specifically mentions how in a long interview, only one small thread made the final cut.
“It didn’t tell the stories like of me coming, and Corey Dillon.
I interviewed for five or six hours, I was in New York, and all they had me say was f***— ‘em all. Like, that’s it!”
And then followed up his initial statement with a ringing endorsement of the former New England coach and de facto general manager.
“They acted like because the Patriots have fallen off the last three or four years that Bill can’t coach. Bill made some mistakes and wasn’t always the nicest or the purest guy. But at the end of the day he always did what he had to do to make the team better.
Think about this: He gave me an opportunity, a fifth-round draft choice. He gave Tom Brady an opportunity. He sent out a 100-million-dollar quarterback when no one thought it was popular and started Tom Brady. … He gives guys who are the underdog an opportunity. No one talks about that. … And I just don’t think that he got enough credit, enough respect, enough props, man. This dude is the greatest coach of all time.”
Harrison is certainly right in that regard; that Belichick was, at least for the majority of his tenure, willing to take risks, trust his eyes and do what was best to help the team succeed in any way possible.
Devin McCourty, meanwhile, noted how of all the good things that he spoke about his time with Bill Belichick and the Patriots the production team seemed more interested in the bad things he had to say for the organization.
“I felt like I got kinda duped. I was like, ‘Man, this is gonna be great. Like the storytelling, we’re talking about this, and we’re talking about that.’
Everything that we all gave to the 20 years that it encompassed, they only hit anything that was negative.
We won at a high level, and guys stayed there. Like I could’ve left two times. I signed back. There are reasons why.”
It is interesting to see players start come to arguably the greatest coach of all time’s defense – and even more prominent figures, like Rob Gronkowski, seemed to want to clarify comments aired in “The Dynasty” when on the “Eye On Foxborough” podcast, per ML Football.
Rob Gronkowski thanks Bill Belichick for giving him structure in his life and for helping him succeed in his career:
“I wouldn’t be where I am right now to this day without Coach Belichick being tough on myself and helping me get to the next level at practice or in a game. So I… pic.twitter.com/zUYU4tON86
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 19, 2024
Although, clearly, Bill Belichick has his faults and defects, and may well have gotten stubborn and perhaps not shown Brady as much respect as he deserved in his final years.
But the propagated story of Belichick cruel, albeit smart coach, who sharply declined towards the final few years, only to be propped up by Tom Brady, is certainly not the way that either Brady nor Belichick would want their legacy to be remembered.
Hopefully, in what will undoubtedly be many more pieces written and filmed about this incredible sporting achievement, the next piece has a little more balance to it: and is produced by a disinterested third party.
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