You can add two more players to the list of New England Patriots legends who contributed to “The Dynasty” but don’t like the final product.
Franchise greats Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison recently expressed issues with the Apple TV series, which some believe paints the Patriots — especially Bill Belichick — in a negative light. And in a recent podcast episode, retired special teams star Matthew Slater and wide receiver Julian Edelman also criticized the show while defending Belichick.
Patriots Legends Go To Bat for Bill Belichick
Slater, a long-time captain throughout his New England career, was surprisingly critical of Belichick during his interviews with The Dynasty’s producers. Most notably, he said Belichick was “hypocritical” for allowing then-candidate Donald Trump to read a letter of endorsement before the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
While appearing this week on Edelman’s “Games with Names” podcast, Slater offered context to his remarks.
“I’m not sure how I feel about everything,” Slater said. “It’s tough. I know there’s some comments that I made on there that made it seem like Bill was just this very demanding presence — and he was. But I also want people to see there are multiple sides to Bill.
“It’s tough, because I feel like he’s being portrayed in a certain light, and we’re painting a picture, but we’re only showing people part of the picture with coach. It’s very complex. And there are things that were tough, and I’m sure we all feel like, ‘Hey, maybe we wish we had done things this way.'”
Slater added: “But let’s make sure none of us forget the fact that the dynasty is not even being talked about without Bill Belichick. And the things that he did were with intentionality and purpose.”
Edelman, who also appeared on The Dynasty, then offered his take.
“I don’t know. This whole thing — it’s a little crazy,” he said. … I honestly think, if you’re in your 30s and you played football, I don’t think you ever liked your football coach. You loved him, but you didn’t like your football coach. Just like I didn’t like my parents when they made me do things they knew was gonna make me a better person.
“I didn’t like doing it. We didn’t like doing it. Work’s not easy. Doing the little s–t for preparation. Doing walkthroughs for walkthroughs for walkthroughs — I hated it. I b—–d about it all the time. But we needed it. That’s why you went into every single game knowing you outprepared that team and you had a shot to win. Every single game.”
Slater, who was surprisingly candid throughout his appearance on Edelman’s podcast, finished with more support for Belichick and a final note on The Dynasty.
“To your point, maybe there were times where many of us didn’t respect Coach, but we always loved and respected him,” Slater said. “There was no question about that. We always knew that he was pushing us to be the best version of ourselves — as our parents would.
” … It’s always hard to tell a story as complex as the one we lived in 10 episodes. There’s just so many more things that took place that give context to what really happened.”
Edelman Called Out Former Patriot Wes Welker
There’s been no love lost between Belichick and Wes Welker since Welker left the Patriots to sign with the Denver Broncos in 2013. And that trend continued in The Dynasty, in which Welker condemned his former head coach on multiple fronts.
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Welker was especially critical of Belichick’s handling of tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder in 2013 and committed suicide while in prison in 2017. One of the greatest receivers in Patriots history, Welker accused Belichick of turning a blind eye toward Hernandez’s bizarre behavior and giving him preferential treatment during practices.
Edelman strongly pushed back against those claims.
“Welker’s out here saying, like, Aaron Hernandez got away with murder, figuratively speaking, at practice,” Edelman said. “That’s not even true. Welker painted the picture (Hernandez) was, like, the king, like he got to do anything.
“I remember Bill motherf—— Aaron all the time. Come on, Welk. Trying to make up stories. We know you don’t like Bill.”
Slater, laughing, said he loves Welker, to which Edelman replied, “I’m just saying … I love him, too, but you can clearly tell that he hates Bill.”
How Does Robert Kraft Feel About The Dynasty?
Many Patriots fans have accused Robert Kraft of having editorial control over the show and using it to prop himself up while knocking Belichick down. Series director Matthew Hamachek denied those accusations in multiple interviews.
Kraft was asked about the show while at the 2024 NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando.
“Well, I loved the first three episodes, I really liked (them),” Kraft said on Tuesday. “I felt bad that there was so much emphasis on the more controversial and, let’s say, challenging situations over the last 20 years. I wish they had focused more on our Super Bowl wins, our 21-game win streak.
“I felt bad there were players who gave hours and hours of interviews and they felt only the negativity — people like Devin McCourty and Rodney Harrison and Matthew (Slater). Although, I didn’t — I just heard quietly that they’ve all felt that way.”
Kraft added: “Actually, there were some really prominent people that were interviewed for hours that never were used. So, little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a real positive approach. Especially for Patriots fans who have lived the experience with us.”
Kraft also was asked about the show’s portrayal of Belichick.
“I feel so privileged that we had Bill here,” Kraft said. “And you know, we hope when he’s finished that we’re gonna have a chance to honor him the way we did — we will do with Tom Brady this year. You know, we did this little ceremony at halftime of the Eagles game, but it was not adequate.
“And we look forward to being able to celebrate putting (Brady) into the Patriots Hall of Fame: six, twelve, twenty-four (June 12). And, you know, I look forward to the privilege of putting Bill into the Patriots Hall of Fame one day in the future.”
Make of those comments what you will. In any event, it probably is safe to say some franchise legends regret contributing to a show that’s created even more controversy for the Patriots.
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