Mike Francesa has lost his fastball a bit, so you maybe could forgive him for floating something that’s pretty far fetched.
Such was the case Tuesday afternoon, when a caller to the longtime WFAN host’s show asked if he thought Belichick might leave the Patriots for another team. Francesa said no, then proceeded to, um, “report” that Belichick almost left the Patriots over Spygate, but Robert Kraft’s endorsement of the Pats head coach kept him there.
Get a load of this.
“Let me just tell you this: There were rumors, and I’m not going to tell you what team it was because it doesn’t matter now,” Francesa said. “There were rumors that he was thinking of leaving years ago, and that’s when he got in trouble with the league, and Kraft backed him to the moon. And I think that ended any chance of him leaving … they were going to suspend him, Kraft kept him from getting suspended and he was supposed to apologize and he didn’t, and that’s when he got into a rift with the commissioner because Belichick was supposed to apologize and he didn’t.
“But Kraft has backed him to the moon, and I think that ended any chance of him taking a huge-dollar offer another team, which I think could’ve happened at that point. I think now he and Brady will end their careers as Patriots, I’m not saying at the same time, I’m not saying he’ll leave when Tom leaves, but I think Tom will stay until he’s ready to leave as a Patriot, and I think Belichick will do the same. I doubt he will at this juncture go to another team. I doubt it. I think probably he will stay, now I don’t know how many years he’ll coach, he can coach as long as he wants, he’ll probably coach as long as it’s fun.”
You can watch Francesa’s explanation here.
Yeah, we’re not so sure about this one — especially given Francesa’s history when it comes to discussing the Patriots. Considering he didn’t get fired by the Patriots (obviously), Belichick had no reason to leave New England as a result of Spygate, seeing as at that point few teams probably would’ve even been remotely willing to take a chance on him given the drama surrounding him.
