New England Patriots weren’t always dynastic
The Hartford Patriots. Not exactly a great ring to it, which is why owner Robert Kraft would likely have kept the name New England. In 1998, Kraft was deep into negotiations with the capital of Connecticut, to the point that a headline reading “Kraft agreed to relocate New England Patriots to Hartford” appeared below a picture that included a stadium rendering.
The move was supposed to happen by 2001, giving Kraft’s team a plush new home to replace the outdated Foxboro Stadium. Hartford was thrilled to be getting a new professional team after losing the NHL’s Whalers to North Carolina in 1997.
Of course, the Patriots ended up staying in the sleepy Boston suburb of Foxborough, and moved into Gillette Stadium in 2002.
This wasn’t the first time New England almost lost its team. In 1994, the Patriots were to replace the Cardinals in St. Louis, where they would become the Stallions. Colors were chosen along with a prototype logo.
It’s easy to see something as it currently is, and believe that’s they way it’s always been. In the case of the Patriots, that would be a mis-judgement of massive proportions. Before Kraft bought the team in 1994, the organization was a bumbling mess. New England had a record of 14-50 from 1990-93 with three head coaches in that span.
From the franchise’s American Football League birth in 1960 until Kraft bought the team, the Patriots had four playoff wins, six postseason appearances and one trip to the Super Bowl. In that game, New England played the role of a sacrificial lamb in a 46-10 thrashing at the hands of the ’85 Bears.
In the 23 seasons under Kraft’s guise, the Patriots have been the model organization for North American sports. They’ve reached an astounding eight Super Bowls and won four (so far), with 16 AFC East titles and 12 AFC Championship Game appearances. In that time, New England has had three coaches: Bill Parcells, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.
For decades, the Patriots were unloved and borderline unwanted. Starting in 1960, they played in Nickerson Field, Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium and Harvard Stadium, and sometimes in more than one venue per campaign. Come 1971, they finally landed in Foxboro Stadium, and changed their name from the Boston to the New England Patriots.
From 1964-75, the franchise went without a winning season. In their first 19 years of existence, the Patriots won two division titles and a single playoff game, defeating the Buffalo Bills in an AFL Divisional contest. They lost the following week to the San Diego Chargers, 51-10.
In the ’70s, New England was typically a doormat for the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. In 1976, the team rose up behind second-year quarterback Steve Grogan, securing an unlikely 11-3 season. In the Divisional round, the Patriots were on the verge of a major upset of the Oakland Raiders. With Oakland trailing 21-17 and facing third and 18 with only 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, defensive lineman Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton was whistled for a controversial roughing the passer penalty. The call sunk the Patriots, who lost 24-21 in the dying seconds.
The 1980s also saw just one real shot at glory, which ended in that blowout loss to the Bears in Super Bowl XX. If anything, New England was seen as the scrappy underdog playing in a town that was never built to hold an NFL franchise. It was a nice story in 1985. Not anymore.
Nothing about the first 35 years of New England’s history suggested it would become the preeminent power of the NFL. Then, after a wild 24 hours in New York, a seemingly uninspired coaching hire and a sixth-round draft pick a few months later, everything changed.
On Jan. 4, 2000, Bill Belichick was promoted to head coach by the New York Jets, replacing Bill Parcells. The following day, Belichick stepped to the fore of a press conference in Long Island and resigned. It was perhaps the greatest about-face in NFL history, and opened the door for a dynasty up the coast.
Madness ensued, with Kraft immediately attempting to hire Belichick as Carroll’s replacement. The sales pitch landed, and Belichick traded green for navy. That wasn’t the only trade that occurred, as then NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue forced the Patriots to send a first-round pick to the Jets as compensation (the commissioner ruled Belichick was under New York control).
At the time, Belichick’s appointment in Foxborough was met with much confusion and anger. Long respected as one of the game’s great defensive coordinators, Belichick had been a flop with the Cleveland Browns in his five years as head coach. In that span, he reached the postseason once and compiled a 36-44 record. Tack on the loss of that first-round pick, and the hiring was widely panned.
The pick New York received was later dealt to the San Francisco 49ers for the 12th-overall selection, with which they landed Shaun Ellis. Ellis ended his career with 73.5 sacks as a two-time Pro Bowler.
San Francisco took Julian Peterson, a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, 16th-overall.
One hundred and eighty three selections later, New England tabbed Tom Brady out of the University of Michigan.
NFL fans below a certain age don’t know anything other than Patriots excellence. The Patriot Way has become a standard by which all other teams are measured. It is tantamount to being the best, and always at your best.
This was not so for the vast majority of the team’s history. For decades, empty bleacher rows in Foxboro Stadium were far easier to spot than any tangible success. It was a culture of losing, which has been replaced by the greatest dynasty we’ve ever known.
Hartford must be thinking what could have been.