Patriots Ownership Reportedly Forced Bill Belichick to Fire Exec

The never-ending saga between former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and current owner Robert Kraft has a new report. According to Pablo Torre's Pablo Torre Finds Out series, one of the team's former executives was booted out of New England — at the request of Kraft.

Torre reported that week that Michael Lombardi was fired from the Patriots after just one season in the front office. Lombardi would go on to join Belichick in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2025.

After Lombardi was let go as the Cleveland Browns' general manager in 2014, the Patriots brought in the long-time Belichick confidante. According to Torre, it started off on the wrong foot almost instantly.

Mike Lombardi's Troubles with Patriots

“Mike Lombardi gets into that building and ends up getting into various power struggles with other executives," Torre said. "Lombardi was quote, 'Internally disruptive.'"

The Patriots had Lombardi on the staff from 2014 to 2016, but once his contract from the Browns expired, that's when his tenure quickly ran out as well. Torre reported that because he was still under contract with Cleveland, the Patriots were happy to have him on staff. When a new contract presented a new discussion, that's when Kraft stepped in.

"What I am told with no ambiguity is that Mike Lombardi is fired by the Patriots because Bob Kraft, the owner of the team, tells Bill Belichick, in a rare instance of him overruling a personnel preference or desire, ‘You’ve got to get rid of him,'" Torre said. "The backdrop being there was quote, 'Basically a mutiny in the building among not just staffers but players if he were to remain in the building.'"

Dec 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi during the Bill Belichick hiring announcement at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Additionally, when the Patriots won Super Bowl LI just eight months after Lombardi's exit, the future Hall of Fame coach went above and beyond for his friend.

“Bill Belichick, I am told, personally bought and presented Lombardi with a Super Bowl ring,” Torre said. “Not an official team-issued A grade ring with real diamonds in it and all that, but the kind that a top executive could buy for his family members.”

Now Belichick and Lombardi are looking to turn around what's been a rocky start to their North Carolina tenures, while Kraft's Patriots — currently sitting pretty at 5-2 — looks to compete for their own A grade Super Bowl ring.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!