New Patriots Book Details Brady-Belichick Rift — And Answers Malcolm Butler Question

A new book diving into the latter part of the Patriots dynasty revealed a deteriorating relationship between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

The book, "It's Better To Be Feared," by ESPN's Seth Wickersham, will be published Oct. 12. But the juiciest parts of the book were hinted at in an ESPN story Wednesday, just days before Brady returns to Foxborough to play the Patriots on "Sunday Night Football."

One of the nuggets involves one of the biggest mysteries in Patriots history: Why was Malcolm Butler was benched in Super Bowl LII.

ESPN said Butler and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia got into a heated argument at practice over what was said to be Butler's lack of effort. The star cornerback was demoted, sticking to the sidelines while underdog Philadelphia sliced through the Patriots defense en route to a victory. Butler cursed out his coaches to his teammates in the locker room after the game.

The book says Brady told people as early as 2017 he didn't want to play for Belichick anymore. Kraft and Brady, a pair previous reporting has always described as extremely close, had at times discussed who might succeed Belichick if the coach moved on.

When Brady did leave for Tampa Bay, he wanted to meet in person to say goodbye to the only coach he ever played with — and won an unprecedented six Super Bowls with. But Belichick thought it was fine to just say farewell over the phone, something Brady thought was telling about how far their relationship had fallen.