Bill Belichick became synonymous with ‘The Patriot Way’ during his 24-year tenure as head coach in New England.
Alongside quarterback Tom Brady and owner Robert Kraft, he helped create and sustain culture around a team that became an NFL dynasty.
Under Belichick and Brady, the Patriots played in nine Super Bowls, more than any other NFL franchise, and lifted the Lombardi Trophy a record six times.
Another key architect of that dynasty, in fact, has returned ahead of the 2025 season to try and return the team to its former glory.
‘The Patriot Way’ was a mantra closely associated with the success at the time, and suggested there was an emphasis on personal accountability, consistent improvement, and a focus on team success over personal gain in New England.
But according to Belichick himself, the moniker was greatly exaggerated.
In fact, in his new book, The Art of Winning, the legendary coach revealed that the culture never actually existed.
“Someone came up with the phrase, ‘The Patriot Way,’” Belichick wrote.
“I think they made some money off it. Good for them.
“Here’s something you should know: The Patriot Way does not exist.”
Belichick’s remark, perhaps, will be seen as a dig at owner Kraft, with whom his relationship is said to have soured in recent years.
The pair parted ways following the 2023 NFL campaign in which New England went 4-13, marking its worst finish in over two decades.
While the Patriots described the decision as ‘mutual’ at the time, a team source told ESPN that the relationship between Belichick and Kraft ‘didn’t seem to be in as great of a place as it used to be’.
More than 12 months on, and Belichick’s book seems to further back that suggestion up.
“Bill’s exhaustive ‘Acknowledgements’ section features a nice shout-out to wingman Berj Najarian, plus, ‘Thank you to my idea mill and creative muse, Jordon Hudson,’ but no mention of Robert K. Kraft,” Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe wrote Friday morning.
“There are 363 people thanked, including Malcolm Butler. Incredibly, Butler’s name is not mentioned in the chapter devoted to ‘Mistakes.’”
Shaugnessy noted the passage where Belichick refers to ‘they’ and ‘them’ when discussing ‘The Patriot way’ mantra, is seemingly the only reference to the Kraft family in the book.
The parties reportedly felt the other received too much praise for the dynasty they built together in New England, even if Belichick has suggested that the iconic Patriots culture didn’t actually exist.
That shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise though, as Brady has also previously played down the idea of the manta, suggesting in 2024 that he had ‘never used that term in my entire life’.
“I think when people say it, I’m always like, ‘What’s the Patriot Way’? It sounds like the title of a book,” he told The Pat McAfee Show.
Brady also gave his own take on the phrase, suggesting players were always trying to do things the ‘right’ way as a team and that no one was above anyone else.
At the end of the day, they were all fighting for a common goal: To win.
That, essentially, is what ‘The Patriot Way’ was all about, anyway.
“Whatever personal agenda you had — individual success and individual awards — I don’t want to make those insignificant, but they weren’t as significant as what we were trying to accomplish as a team,” Brady suggested.
While Belichick didn’t coach in 2024 after departing New England, he will return to the sidelines in 2025 as a first-time college head coach for North Carolina.
The 72-year-old has already made waves with his decision to join the Tar Heels, and with the jaw-dropping details of his $10million contract, but he will be hoping to install a winning culture from day one at UNC.
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