NEW YORK — It is confirmed that Robert and Jonathan Kraft did, in fact, participate in person at the NFL’s fall owners meetings for two days this week at the Intercontinental Hotel.
But if you blinked, you missed them.
There was Robert on Tuesday night, quickly exiting out the back of the hotel to avoid a throng of reporters. There was Jonathan, quickly moving through the lobby and out the door in a hoodie sweatshirt and baseball cap. It was the first time anyone could remember not seeing him in a suit.
It was more of the same Wednesday. Roger Goodell’s bodyguard met Robert at the front door and ushered him past reporters and into the meeting. Jonathan pressed his phone to his ear and scurried through the lobby.
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Call it the “1-5 Shuffle.”
Patriots spokesman Stacey James told Globe colleague Dan Shaughnessy last week that Kraft typically speaks to the media at each quarterly owners meeting. But the Patriots owners aren’t in a talkative mood these days. Their team ranks 31st in points per game, has been outscored, 93-20, over the last three weeks, and they have a colossal decision staring them in the face:
What to do with Bill Belichick?
The Krafts were seemingly the only ones at the league meetings who didn’t want to discuss Belichick’s future with the Patriots. Usually I’m the one asking the questions at these events, but the tables were turned on me throughout the two days.
“What’s going on with Belichick?” one team president wanted to know.
“They can’t really fire Belichick, can they?” a league staffer asked.
“Do I need to cover the Patriots’ last game of the season?” a national reporter wondered.
“Would they consider bringing in a GM for him?” a league executive asked.
No one knows for sure what the Krafts are thinking. And it probably doesn’t do them any good to speak publicly. No need to box themselves into a corner with any statements, or to add more pressure to a situation that has already reached a boil.
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But we know that some of Belichick’s friends are concerned that this year is it for him. We know that Robert Kraft lined up Belichick’s potential replacement, Jerod Mayo. We know that Kraft said in March, “We’re about winning and doing whatever we can to win.” We know that Belichick is solely responsible for building a boring, plodding football team that lacks star power.
We know the Krafts are proud of their franchise and their unprecedented run of success. We also know they are fans first, sitting in the stands for decades before buying the team. And the fan base is frustrated and, worse, increasingly apathetic over the state of the team.
Add it all up, and the signs are clearly pointing to the Krafts having to part ways with Belichick after the season, barring a significant turnaround over the final 11 games.
It may be the toughest move the Krafts have had to make in their 30 years of ownership. It’s not easy letting go of a legendary, future-first-ballot-Hall-of-Fame coach who helped win six Super Bowls and made your franchise one of the most valuable sports entities on the planet.
But at the rate this season is going, moving on from Belichick probably has to be done. Bringing him back after, say, a 4-13 season would be a hard to sell to the players and fans.
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Which leads to the next question I got about 27 times at the meetings.
“Do you think he would coach again?”
Belichick, 71, definitely wants to. He told Shaughnessy last year that he regretted making the “Marv Levy” comment 15 years ago and wants to coach well into his 70s.
But it’s fair to wonder whether Belichick would truly want to uproot and start fresh with a new organization and a new owner. His life has been in New England for 24 years. He has his compound and boats in Nantucket. He’s at an age where not many people want to start over.
Another question is whether any team would want him. Belichick’s name still carries plenty of cachet, but when a team fires its coach and wants to start over this offseason, is a 71-year-old who sent the Patriots down in flames the guy it wants as the face of its franchise?
One team that repeatedly came up in my very informal discussions was the Chargers. They have a great quarterback in Justin Herbert, and they probably could use an experienced coach like Belichick after struggling with young, first-time coach Brandon Staley. One big problem is the Spanos family, which owns the Chargers; they are not known for spending big money on coaching salaries.
The other team that came up a lot was the Commanders, a team that once lured Joe Gibbs out of retirement and could use a similar jolt of excitement. Belichick is an Annapolis guy, coached many a game at the old RFK Stadium, and would be an intriguing choice to lead the Commanders into their next era under new owner Josh Harris.
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But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves. First Belichick needs to navigate the remaining 11 games of the 2023 season to try to turn around the Patriots’ fortunes.
The entire NFL wants to know what the Krafts are thinking. Their silence can’t be good for Belichick.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.