Sports Final: "The Dynasty" author Jeff Benedict discusses the good times -- and the friction -- during the Patriots' dynasty
BOSTON -- The incredible 20-year run of the New England Patriots -- which resulted in six Super Bowl titles for the team and football immortality for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft -- will never be matched. But even with all of those victories, there was plenty of turmoil as well.
That latter part has been in the spotlight for the last four years since Brady left town and found glory elsewhere, while Belichick and Kraft tried to keep the New England dynasty alive. That obviously did not happen, and Belichick's run in New England came to an end last month when he and the team parted ways after 24 years.
But the great times (and the tough times) are the focus of a new Apple TV series The Dynasty, which is based off Jeff Benedict's book of the same name. It details the rise and the fall of the Patriots dynasty under the Brady-Belichick-Kraft triumvirate, with Benedict interviewing over 200 people for the book. The new series premieres on Feb. 16. on Apple TV+.
Benedict joined Steve Burton on Sunday night's Sports Final on WBZ-TV, to discuss his book and the series, and some of the incredible stories that were revealed in the process.
"I don't normally consider myself a sports writer, but when I was watching what they were doing I thought it was Babe Ruth and the Yankees -- something no one will ever do again," said Benedict. "I love the fact that so many other parts of the country envy what we have, and I wanted a chance to write the definitive account of how this happened."
The egos of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft
All three of the pillars of the New England dynasty had larger-than-life egos, but managed to put them aside and enjoy two decades of success on the field. Benedict is most impressed with how Kraft was able to keep it all together for two decades.
It was everyone's commitment to winning -- and their incredible confidence -- that allowed them to check those egos and win for as long as the Patriots did.
"Anyone who has done the kinds of things they've done -- Tiger Woods, LeBron James -- you have to have that. There is obviously some of that. That's different than arrogance, entitlement. But these guys possess an abnormal amount of confidence that they can do anything," said Benedict.
"If they didn't have that, they wouldn't be considered the greatest football team in history. Tom wouldn't be the best quarterback, Bill the best coach and Kraft the best owner. This is a trio, and it was fascinating how those egos were managed," he said.
Benedict pointed out that The Beatles were only together for a decade. The Patriots doubled that timeframe thanks to Kraft's ability to juggle those egos.
"He kept Tom and Bill together for 20. The real skill was keeping them on the same stage, sharing that spotlight," said Benedict.
The friction between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick
While that 20-year run was incredible, it all came crashing down after the 2019 season when Brady decided to leave New England for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He quickly turned the Bucs into a contender and won a Super Bowl his first season in Tampa, upping Brady's collection of Super Bowl rings to seven.
There was friction between the main players throughout the dynastic run of the Patriots, but Benedict said that really isn't anything new for a successful franchise. What set the Patriots apart was their ability to overcome that friction once games kicked off.
"At times there was plenty," Benedict said of the friction during the 20-year marriage. "It was not surprising that there were stress points along the way and disagreements. Of course there were. Anybody who has worked in an org with that level of greatness, there is going to be that.
"They are strong-minded people, men who are in leadership roles, so you're going to get that. The bigger thing to me is, do you think there is not friction in all the other NFL teams? Of course there are. The difference with this team, when it's Sunday afternoon at 1pm and the gun goes off, [they put it aside and] it's different. When Tom puts his helmet on, Bill puts on his headset and Robert sits down at the 50-yard line upstairs, it's different.
"Now it's a team and it's all about beating the team on the other side of the field. And they did that more often and for longer and more dramatically than anyone else did."
Who was the hardest person to talk for The Dynasty?
Benedict spoke with over 200 people close to the Patriots organization for his book. He said that Brady opened up quite a bit in their chats, and that the quarterback never asked him to turn off his tape recorder. He even shed a few tears throughout the process -- as did the author.
Who was the most difficult to get anything out of? The answer will not surprise Patriots fans.
"Bill. I mean, that's easy. For sure. C'mon," said Benedict, sending Burton into hysterics.
"Because Bill is not ... Tom and Robert are both very personable men. They're also emotional men. I'm not saying they love to sit down and talk to journlalists, but if you can get engaged and talk about things that really matter to them -- the things that really matter to Tom and Robert besides football, they talk about the human things," said Benedict.
"Bill likes to talk about one thing, and that is football. And a lot of times he doesn't even want to talk about that with certain journalists and people," he added.
Despite that, Benedict was still able to get the full story on New England's incredible dynasty.
"It is an unbelievable story, and it's because of the characters, the people. That's why the story is so great. It's about them," he said. "For 20 years you could light up maps on Sundays and say that all of these colors are rooting against the Patriots, and the only place lit up the right color was New England. To have that in your pocket for 20 years, that's what Mickey Mantle and the Yankees had, what Bill Russell and the Celtics had. The Patriots had it for 20 years."