NFL rumors: New reports suggest Bill Belichick's exit may not have been as mutual as presented

Political correctness might be the best way to describe the pleasant parting exchanges shown by the New England Patriots and former head coach Bill Belichick. The six-time Super Bowl champion decided to step down after an illustrious tenure, but recent reports from the Boston Globe state life wasn't always good (subscription required).

According to The Globe, by the end of his tenure, according to multiple people within the organization, Belichick made both coaching and personnel decisions that flouted feedback from his staff. It was one of the reasons Kraft didn’t feel comfortable retaining Belichick and adjusting his role.

Kraft then went on to speak about collaboration and communication being a key decision as to why the franchise opted to go in a different direction, which started with the decision to hire former Patriots player and defensive assistant Jerod Mayo as the new head coach.

NFL Rumors: Robert Kraft shining brighter light as to why Bill Belichick ultimately stepped down as HC of the New England Patriots

This offseason has been a wild one in Foxborough, Mass. The departing of a longtime coach has left the franchise wondering about what is next. It has been a while since their last Super Bowl parade a couple of years ago, but all is not lost. The amount of cap space is a staggering $260 million-plus.

Not to mention, the Patriots have the third pick in the draft, and if the board falls in their favor, they have a chance to secure a true blue-chip prospect to revive the team. Offensively, the team needs a complete overhaul, and the defense just needs younger reinforcements. The good news is de facto general manager Eliot Wolf will ultimately make the final personnel decisions.

Wolf has a good resume of scouting players, plus he has taken lessons from his father Ron Wolf, a Hall of Fame GM who resurrected the Packers from obscurity into a dominant team in the 1990's, including a Super Bowl win against New England after the '96 season. There may be happy times ahead for New England, but we now know even more about the dark side that was looming even in the good times.