As ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary captured America's attention with an all-access pass to Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, many NFL fans wondered the same thing: Wouldn't it be fascinating to get this same inside look into the New England Patriots' recent teams?
Well, a new book coming out in September 2020 is promising that inside look.
"The Dynasty" by author Jeff Benedict will offer an "inside account" of how the Patriots built a modern-day dynasty under owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
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Benedict, a former writer for Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times who most recently wrote a biography on Tiger Woods, was granted "exclusive access" to the Patriots beginning in 2018 and interviewed over 200 people for the book, including "team executives, coaches, players, players’ wives, team doctors and lawyers" and more, according to publisher Simon & Schuster's press release.
Of most interest to Patriots fans, Benedict apparently will focus on the complicated relationship between Kraft, Belichick and Brady.
"I’m fascinated by individuals and organizations that become the best in the world at something," Benedict said in a statement. " ... And I found that the dynasty’s durability ultimately resided in the unusual relationship between the owner, the coach, and the quarterback."
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Benedict hardly is the first author to write about the Patriots' dynasty: From Michael Holley's "Patriot Reign" (2004) to Jeff Howe and Scott Zolak's "If These Walls Could Talk" (2018), the drama surrounding New England's successes and failures has been well-chronicled.
But Benedict's book is the first of this genre since Brady's shocking decision to leave the Patriots after 20 seasons and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
What really drove Brady to leave New England, and how did his departure impact the already-complex dynamic between Belichick and Kraft? We may find out more from Benedict's book in September -- just as the Patriots begin life without the six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.