Readers Say

‘A hit job on Belichick’: What readers thought about ‘The Dynasty’ docuseries

"There’s two sides to every story. We only got one."

By Kristina DaPonte

March 25, 2024

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New England Patriots fans are passionate whether or not we’re in NFL football season — and reactions to “The Dynasty” prove it.

Pats fans are can get heated about their team, so it comes as no surprise that they also had some strong feelings about Apple TV+’s 10-part docuseries, which chronicled the ups and downs of the team over a 20-year period during the Brady-Belichick-Kraft era.

We asked readers if they liked “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” and if they had any lingering thoughts after wrapping up the series, which aired its final episodes on March 15. Of the 322 readers who responded to our poll and over email, 61% of them said they did not like the show, 16% liked it, and 24% thought that it was okay.

Many readers were angered by the portrayal of Bill Belichick — something former Patriots players spoke up about during the show’s run. Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski pushed back against the criticism against Belichick, and said “[T]here wouldn’t have been 20-plus years of a winning culture without Coach Belichick,” on MassLive’s “Eye on Foxborough” podcast. Devin McCourty had some thoughts on it as well, saying he felt “duped” when the show only used quotes that portrayed the head coach in a negative light.

“The series unfairly distilled Bill Belichick’s career to his mistakes. Sure, he made mistakes. But he was the winningest coach in Patriots history for good reason, and everyone was fine with his mistakes while he was winning,” reader Eddy D. from Maynard said about the show. “It is hypocritical to turn on the guy now.”

Other readers held the same opinion, but enjoyed the show nonetheless, like Katerina from Ontario.

“I would like to have seen Belichick portrayed a bit less negatively, but overall, I liked the series,” she said. “After reading what was left out, I think it could have been better and a bit less biased toward Brady and Kraft, but I still think it did a good job of showing how amazing this team was for 20 years.”

For those who thought that the documentary series was somewhere in the middle, they liked it for the nostalgia and behind-the-scenes look at iconic moments, but felt mixed about how the show portrayed Belichick.

“I’m torn on the ‘Dynasty’ documentary,” said Pat from South Boston. “On one hand it is a dopamine overload of Pats memories, and on the other hand [it] is a no hold-back Belichick hit piece.”

Scroll down to see what other Boston.com readers said about “The Dynasty.”

Some quotes have been edited for length and clarity.

‘The dynasty would never have happened without his coaching genius’

“Surprisingly negative given it’s about a team that experienced so much winning. The talk about Brady was so good — they detailed Kraft’s businessman savvy but they glossed over how Belichick built and coached all those teams. Instead they blamed him for everything that when wrong — it was a head scratching watch.” — Boston.com reader

“Too much negative focus on Belichick. He built the dynasty and kept it together with an ever-changing roster year in and year out for close to 20 years.” — Raymond K., Canada

“It was nice to get a different picture of the Patriots that I didn’t know, but ‘The Dynasty’ sadly seemed bent on trying to discredit their huge success of the franchise.” — Howard B., Redding, Calif.

“I read Jeff Benedict’s book ‘The Dynasty’ and it painted a much more fair and honest look at the Patriots over the 20+ years. This series didn’t even come close to that. Any fan watching it knows that it was a hit piece on Belichick. Anyone who wasn’t a fan who watched it out of curiosity would come away believing that the Patriots were a dynasty DESPITE Belichick. Nothing could be farther from the truth.” — Elisabeth T.

“Focused on lows. Felt like the most miserable 20 years of winning. Exactly the opposite of what it felt like to be a Patriots fan.” — Boston.com reader

“Too much focus on negatives like Spygate, Deflategate, Hernandez, and the Brady/Belichick declining relationship. Very little focus on the unbelievable successes…nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi trophies. Very unfairly paints a negative picture of Belichick. The dynasty would never have happened without his coaching genius.” — Steve P., Auburn, NH

“Apparently the Patriots went 20 years with a miserable record and only scandal to their name. Could of swore they won a playoff game or two in there somewhere.” — Gregg, Wakefield

“I thought the first episode was great. After that, I was disappointed. Skipping over the 2003 and 2004 championship seasons was a huge mistake. I wanted behind the scenes coverage of the good years to offset the Spygate, Deflategate and Hernandez coverage (which have already been covered to excess). Instead, there was very little in the final nine episodes that we haven’t already seen and heard before. I was left wondering who the audience was for this.” — Scott, Tewksbury

‘Insightful’

“Great walk down memory lane, although too much of a hit job on Belichick. There’s two sides to every story. We only got one.” — Al, Topsfield

“It had a lot [of] details and views from players, journalists, and coaches. I learned many things to think about and discuss. It was interesting. Well done.” — Donna P., Vineyard Haven

“I liked it but thought it was very slanted and left out so many crucial players over the years, like Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon, etc. — Thomas L., Billerica

“Insightful. Revealed the difficulty, complexity, and the unexpected magic of such a long run of consistent competitiveness.” — Brian R., Kentucky

“I would like to have seen Belichick portrayed a bit less negatively, but overall, I liked the series. After reading what was left out, I think it could have been better and a bit less biased toward Brady and Kraft, but I still think it did a good job of showing how amazing this team was for 20 years.” — Katerina, Ontario

“Every gigantic success has dues that must be paid: sacrifices, disagreements, grumblings, compromises, druthers, etc. Six Super Bowl rings didn’t come without those, and without those it wouldn’t have come at all. The best part of ‘The Dynasty’ series was that Patriots fans had an opportunity to again feel the joy and exhilaration of six Super Bowl championships! How delicious even the aftertaste still is!” — Nate R., Groton

“It provided additional insight directly from the people involved. I loved the video clips from behind the curtains, as well as the older footage.” — Jimmy J., South Boston

‘Torn on the documentary’

“Should have highlighted the good as well as the bad with BB. Too much fawning over the Krafts. Little talk of 21-game win streak era.” — Robert G., Coronado, CA

“I liked the candor of Brady and Kraft. I think Belichick did himself no favors by failing to contest or clarify situations. He is portrayed in a very unfavorable way, which is unfair and uneven.” — John M., Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“I thought the series had some positives, like the quantity of former players interviewed. It was good to see Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, [Tedy] Bruschi, etc. contributing to the series. I also liked how it showed New Englanders’ reactions to that garbage called Deflategate. But in total, it definitely seemed made out to trash Belichick. He is still the greatest coach ever, and it painted him to be in the worst light possible. It’s almost like a revenge piece for his standoffishness towards the media all these years.” — John, Wilbraham

“The negatives seemed to outweigh the positives considering all the great games!” — Bill, Hampton, N.H.

“Too focused on controversies; not enough focus on the successes. For a series called ‘The Dynasty,’ there was actually little time devoted to exploring the various factors and people who contributed to it.” — Boston.com reader

“They gloss over the second and third Super Bowl wins. It also seemed like a hit piece on Bill B. Did like some of the interviews and some of the footage that I had never seen.” — Shaun, Kissimmee, Fla.

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