The relationship between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft is "still frayed and might always be," and the fact that Kraft "called this fifth Super Bowl title 'the sweetest' one yet ruffled feathers on Park Avenue at the league office," according to sources cited by Jason La Canfora of CBSSPORTS.com. Additionally, the image of Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia "stepping off the team plane wearing a T-shirt depicting Goodell as a clown had some NFL executives seething." One ownership source said, "The fact that Kraft didn't stop him from wearing that ticked some people off, but did they really think he's going to protect Goodell after all of this?" La Canfora noted Kraft last year had a "particular ire" for NFL General Counsel Jeff Pash's "handling of the Deflategate investigation." Another source said, "Robert still wants Pash out. The only way there will ever be a full reconnect between the Patriots and Goodell is if Pash was no longer there" (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/10). ESPN's Mike Golic said the NFL did not need to let their feelings on the subject "get out." Golic: "They just needed to let it pass. ... I wouldn't even give them the satisfaction of saying I was mad about that at all. I would have just kept that one under wraps.” ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said Patricia's T-shirt "did surprise me a little." Greenberg: "I did think to myself, ‘That’s really a low blow’” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 2/13). THE MMQB's Peter King writes he is "not a big fan of NFL coaches wearing T-shirts slapping the NFL commissioner in the face." It is "just not a good look" (MMQB.SI.com, 2/13).
TOO SWEET: Kraft appeared on NBC's "Today" this morning and the net's Matt Lauer brought up the trophy presentation following Super Bowl LI. Lauer: "We all know Roger Goodell had a big impact on the Patriots over the last few years -- a big fine, draft choices, suspension of Tom Brady for four games. When you got this trophy from Roger Goodell, what were you thinking?” Kraft: “I was thinking how sweet it was and how great that all our fans everywhere could celebrate with us. In a way, it's a good lesson in life. Sometimes people give up easily, mental toughness. We were forced together even more” ("Today," NBC, 2/13).
OPENING ACT: In N.Y. Gary Myers wrote he "wouldn't blame Goodell if he skipped out" on the '17 season's Thursday night opener, which likely will be a Patriots home game. Fans will have "too many hours to tailgate and hydrate" by the 8:30pm ET kickoff. Myers wonders why Goodell would subject himself to "such hostility." In the last three weeks, Patriots fans "gave Goodell just a small taste of just how deflating an experience it will be if he ends his self-imposed two-season post-Deflategate Gillette Stadium exile." The Falcons play in Foxboro next season, so a Super Bowl rematch is a "good possibility for the Thursday night opener" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/12).
