Tom Brady Speaks his Mind

As Wickersham highlights in the book, the initial fractures -- between Brady, Belichick and Robert Kraft -- in this relationship go back years. In 2017, Brady allegedly told those close to him, "I don't want to play for BIll anymore." It was around that time, Wickersham, writes, that Kraft, Brady and a few others discussed scenarios about who would replace Belichick. If Josh McDaniels left for another head coaching job, the Patriots could hire Bill O'Brien to one day succeed Belichick. O'Brien then caught wind of that plan and tried to force his way out of Houston.

While the discontent with Belichick was well documented on Brady's end, the book also highlights how Kraft would oftentimes grow tired of the head coach. The book reveals that Kraft told confidants that "Bill was an idiot savant," pointing to his reputation prior to coming on with the Patriots in 2000 after coaching the Browns. He also felt that Belichick "didn't show him the respect he deserved, but he was in no rush for life after him." Wickersham also writes that Kraft once called Belichick the "biggest f----ng a--hole in my life."