Patriots' Robert Kraft Called Bill Belichick the 'Biggest F--king Assh--e,' Book Says

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly called head coach Bill Belichick a "f--king assh--e" in front of confidants before a 2018 game against the Detroit Lions.

ESPN's Seth Wickersham writes in his upcoming book, It's Better to Be Feared, that cracks in the model franchise had begun to form three years ago as Belichick told associates that Kraft had "meddled" with the decision-making process as a way of appeasing former Pats quarterback Tom Brady:

"As for Kraft, in late September, he was in Aspen (Colorado) for a conference and bumped into a few friends in the hotel lobby early one morning. He told them he was leaving later for Detroit, where the Patriots were playing their next game. 'I hate leaving here,' Kraft said. 'You leave here and you leave some of the most brilliant people you've ever met. You pick up so much knowledge from all these brilliant minds. And I have to go to Detroit to be with the biggest f--king assh--e in my life—my head coach.'"

The Patriots were coming off a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars when Kraft made the comment, and they then fell to the Lions to drop their record to 1-2 early in the 2018 season.

As the latest round of "is the Patriots dynasty over?" talk took hold publicly, the situation behind the scenes had been spiraling toward its conclusion for a while.

Wickersham wrote Brady had informed friends he didn't want to play for Belichick anymore as early as 2017, and Kraft had grown frustrated because he felt the team's longtime head coach "didn't show him the respect he deserved."

"Bill was an idiot savant," Kraft told a confidant about Belichick. "I gave him this opportunity."

New England proceeded to go on a six-game winning streak and ultimately captured Super Bowl LIII at the end of the 2018 campaign, the sixth title of the Brady-Belichick era.

Another championship wasn't enough to salvage the relationships for the long haul, though. Brady played just one more season with the Patriots before leaving in free agency to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl title in his first year with the franchise.

As the future Hall of Fame quarterback prepared to sign with Tampa Bay, he tried to arrange a goodbye meeting with Belichick. The coach insisted he wouldn't be available and could only talk by phone, a decision Brady felt was "telling" about how their relationship deteriorated, per Wickersham.

It's Better to Be Feared, which sheds light on the often secretive Brady-Belichick era in New England, is scheduled for an Oct. 12 release.

The book excerpts come as Brady prepares for his return to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night as a member of the Bucs. Belichick talked about the longtime face of the franchise's return Monday on WEEI (via Mike Reiss of ESPN):

"Look, I have so much respect and appreciation for Tom and everything he did here, and for me and for our team. We're just getting ready to compete against Tampa this week and we're going to keep our focus on that. ...

"Tom and I had, I feel like a good relationship and a lot of production obviously while we were together. I enjoyed coaching Tom and he was a great player for us."

Brady's first game back in New England is one of the marquee games on the 2021 NFL regular-season schedule, and the latest revelations merely add to the intrigue.