The final two episodes of The Dynasty: New England Patriots debuted Friday on Apple TV+. In the ninth episode of the series, some answers were given as to why Patriots coach Bill Belichick kept cornerback Malcolm Butler on the sideline for all defensive snaps in Super Bowl LII, which New England lost to the Eagles.
“What has been told to me is that there was something personal going on between Bill and Malcolm, that was not football related,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft says. “I always felt that every decision Bill had made had been to put what was in the best interests of the team first, and put emotion aside. But, with Malcolm, he did just the opposite.”
Even if the specific reason for the personal issue isn’t known, that’s quite an indictment from the team’s owner. Belichick, in Kraft’s opinion, allowed something unrelated to football to impact a football decision, to the detriment of the team.
Kraft knows more about the situation than others, Butler included.
“People still ask me,” Butler said, “to this day. ‘Why didn’t you play in the Super Bowl?’ ‘I don’t know, man, coach’s decision.’ . . . I really don’t know. I really don’t. Just to like leave me watching my team suffer when I know I could help like. Like, not one rep. Not one rep.”
The fact that it was a 41-33 shootout makes the failure to use Butler at all even more glaring.
“Seeing how the game was transpiring, it’s like, ‘Well, man, we kind of need him in there right now,’” receiver Matthew Slater said. “Can we get him in there to stop the bleeding?’
Belichick kept the reason even from his staff.
“I don’t have one bit of information about that, to this day,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said.
During his own interview for the show, Belichick was asked about the Butler situation by director Matthew Hamachek.
“Matt, we’ve talked about that,” Belichick said.
“I didn’t ask you about it,” Hamachek replied.
The failure to play Butler confused and frustrated players. Consider this from receiver Danny Amendola, who did not hold back.
“I remember walking off the field that night, just really confused,” Amendola said. “That was the biggest game of our lives at the moment, and Malcolm’s not on the field? That shit kind of pisses me off, still today. I mean, we played our asses off. Tom threw for 500-plus yards, which in the Super Bowl had never been done. We’re out there literally putting our bodies on the line, our heads on the line, for our friends, our family, our teammates and to not get an explanation, like, I felt like we got cheated a little bit, honestly, and I don’t feel bad saying that.”
Belichick apparently should still feel bad for doing it. As Kraft tells it, Belichick allowed a non-football issue to influence a football decision that might have significantly contributed to the Patriots having six instead of seven Super Bowl wins.
And Tom Brady would have eight, along with a five-ring lead over Patrick Mahomes.
