"The Dynasty," Apple TV+'s docuseries about the New England Patriots' historic 20-year run, aired its final episode last Friday. At least two Patriots greats weren't thrilled with how the team was portrayed.
Ex-Patriots safeties Rodney Harrison and Devin McCourty shared their reactions to the series during a candid conversation on "NFL on NBC." Both were disappointed with what was and wasn't included in the 10 episodes.
Harrison, a key contributor to two Super Bowl titles, was especially miffed about how little of his interview was shown.
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"It didn't tell the stories of me coming, and Corey Dillon. I mean, I interviewed for five or six hours I was in New York, and all they had me saying was, 'F--- 'em all, f--- 'em all.' That's it," Harrison said.
McCourty was upset that the series focused more on the drama behind the scenes than the team's accomplishments.
"I felt like I got kind of duped," the three-time Super Bowl champion said. " I was like, man, this is gonna be great. The storytelling, we're talking about this and we're talking about that. Everything that we all gave to the 20 years that it encompassed, they only hit anything that was negative.
"Hey, we won at a high level and guys stayed there. I could have left two times, I signed back. There's reasons why."
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The most common critique of "The Dynasty" seems to be the docuseries' portrayal of Bill Belichick. Episodes revolved around some of the longtime Patriots head coach's most questionable decisions, such as the benching of Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII and his handling of Tom Brady's trainer, Alex Guerrero. The series focused more on how the team overcame Belichick's low points than how it thrived under his leadership for 20 years.
Harrison was among those displeased with how Belichick was treated.
"They had like, the last three or four years because the Patriots had struggled that Bill can't coach. Bill made some mistakes and he wasn't always the nicest or the purest guy, but at the end of the day, he always did whatever he had to do to make the team better," Harrison said. "Think about this, he gave me an opportunity. A fifth-round draft choice. He gave Tom Brady an opportunity. He sat down a $100 million quarterback when no one thought it was popular and started Tom Brady. ...
"He gives guys who are the underdog an opportunity. No one talks about that. When everybody else is done with a guy, he brings in a Corey Dillon, he brings in a Randy Moss, he brings in a Rodney Harrison. I just don't think that he got enough credit, enough respect, enough props. This dude is the greatest coach of all time."
Watch the full clip of Harrison and McCourty's back-and-forth below:
With only 10 episodes to tell the story of the Patriots' 20-year run, it's no surprise some important moments were cut out -- Harrison's arrival and two championships with the team among them. It's also understandable Harrison is unhappy with hardly being in the series despite his lengthy interview.
McCourty, on the other hand, was featured prominently and didn't hold back from sharing some of his own Belichick critiques. However, it sounds like he also spoke positively about his former head coach and those clips didn't make it to the final edit.
The Patriots greats played a part in five of the team's six Super Bowl titles. Harrison was named to the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2019, and McCourty will likely one day join him.
You can watch Harrison and McCourty's full "NFL on NBC" discussion below, or on YouTube: