Bill Belichick fires back at Robert Kraft's 'risk' remark

Nick Wright joins Colin Cowherd to discuss Bill Belichick’s reputation, the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Draft lottery, and where he was wrong about the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a recent comment that caught Bill Belichick’s eye. 

Kraft said that hiring Belichick in 1999 was the best decision that he made as the Patriots owner but added that hiring Belichick was a "big risk."

"The one that got questioned the most was in 1999," Kraft said last month during an appearance on "Dudes on Dudes" with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.

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North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick speaks to the media at the Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

"I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach that had only won a little over 40% of his games to get him out. I don't know if there are any Jets fans here. I think getting Bill Belichick to come to the Patriots in 1999 was a big risk, and I got hammered in the Boston area, but he was with us for 24 years," Kraft said. 

Belichick responded to Kraft’s comments, and said that taking the Patriots head coaching job was a "big risk."

"As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job," Belichick said in a statement to ESPN. 

"I already had an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable."

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Head coach Bill Belichick, left, of the New England Patriots shakes hands with owner Robert Kraft during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11,