More than three decades into his ownership of the Patriots, Robert Kraft is still — in his own words — “living my dream.”
The 84-year-old Kraft recently sat down for an interview with former Patriots players David Andrews and Brian Hoyer for an episode of “The Quick Snap Podcast.” The trio covered a range of topics, starting with the recent success and Sunday’s wild-card playoff win over the Chargers.
It was the first postseason win for the Patriots at Gillette Stadium (or anywhere) since Super Bowl LIII and the subsequent departures of dynastic pillars Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But Kraft said he was most energized by the rank-and-file fans, who roared their approval of the 16-3 win on Sunday.
“The crowd was a real asset to the team,” he said of Patriots fans.
New England’s 14-3 record — and berth in the AFC divisional round — represents a remarkable turnaround from just a year ago, when the Patriots were in the midst of another coaching change following a disastrous 4-13 season. Jerod Mayo, promoted to coach the Patriots following Belichick’s exit, was fired after just a single season in charge.
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“The one thing that my family and I understand is that we own this team, but it’s not like a traditional business,” Kraft explained. “I look at our family as custodians of a public asset.”
On the topic of Mayo, Kraft acknowledged the difficulty of the decision to fire a person who had represented the organization both as a player and coach.
“I’m very fond of Jerod. I would say that was one of the one or two hardest decisions,” Kraft said. In addition to the emotional strain, the New England owner lamented the financial implications of detaching from a coach and his staff.
“It was very expensive, because it was not only [Mayo’s] contract but 25 other coaches — so it was the worst financial implication since we’ve owned the team,” Kraft claimed. “But I’m a fan first, and I thought this just isn’t the right situation, and that’s on me. Jerod’s a great guy, but I just didn’t want to go through a continuation of what happened. I really believed that hiring Mike [Vrabel] gave us a chance quickly to put the team where it was.”
That decision has so far been completely validated. New England went from bottom of the division to the top, and secured a No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture.
On Sunday, the Patriots host the Texans in the divisional round at 3 p.m.
“Nothing would make me happier,” Kraft said of potentially defeating Houston and moving on to the AFC Championship game.
The effect of a rebuilt Patriots team is something the longtime owner said he’s felt in the community.
“I mean I went to a restaurant that I’ve never gone to. A buddy of mine said come have dinner with me, I was solo, and all the waiters in this restaurant came over to me and thanked me,” Kraft recalled. “They said, ‘You don’t understand the vibe it’s created, not just in our building but in our families and everything. Having the Patriots back, having something that we can rally around that’s real.’
“It gives me special energy every day,” he added, “and hearing the fans and their appreciation puts a great responsibility on my family to do whatever we can do to put us in a position to win.”
Drake Maye, Patriots offense prepare for tough playoff test against Texans’ defense
One of the driving forces behind the Patriots’ resurgence is second-year quarterback (and MVP candidate) Drake Maye.
“He’s a terrific young man, but the greatest quality of him in at least my feelings is his humility, and I think that comes from his parents and the family,” Kraft said of the 23-year-old QB. “He’s got three older brothers who are good. Usually the baby in the family’s a little spoiled, but he has a humility that’s genuine. So it’s like putting family first, it’s putting team first. Anyone who’s solid and has had the privilege of good family understands what this is, if you want to win, everybody has to put team first. Not just in words, but in actions. If you do that and everyone can control their ego, then good things can happen.”
Kraft said he first noticed — and was impressed by — Maye during the otherwise terrible 2024 season.
“We had so many tough games, and I don’t know he only played two-thirds of the games, but after every game, he would go around the locker room to the linemen and try to boost them up,” Kraft remembered. “It was genuine. So we’re really lucky I think because some of these young men in that position, especially [with] social media, people get so caught up with that, they forget what the basic fundamentals of how you build family, how you build a business, how you build relationships is the real stuff.”
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