When Tom Brady met Robert Kraft in 2000, the sixth-round rookie said to the billionaire owner of the Patriots, “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” That’s debatable, and the debate could be settled, starting this year.
Three months before using a sixth-round pick to get Brady, they used a first-round pick to get coach Bill Belichick, who had become via contractual ascension the coach of the Jets when Bill Parcells decided to step down. Belichick resigned, and Kraft wanted to hire Belichick. Kraft did.
Here’s some of the press conference from following the trade, which was made 20 years ago tomorrow.