Kevin Hart may have helped bury the hatchet between Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick.
The comedian unscripted encouraged the two men to do a shot on stage at the Kia Forum after Kraft spoke for three minutes during the “Roast of Tom Brady” airing live on Netflix on Sunday night.
Kraft walked up to the stage and after a little encouragement from Hart, Belichick met the Pats owner near the podium.
“I want to say this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that no one else has done,” Kraft said into the microphone. “And having Tom Brady and him was the greatest honor the good lord gave me, so cheers!”
Belichick was the focus of many jokes during the course of the three-hour roast of the future Hall of Fame quarterback — and also dished some out himself.
Kraft and Belichick announced that the coach was leaving the organization in January after Belichick had coached in New England for 24 seasons that produced seven Super Bowl victories, nine AFC championships and 17 AFC East titles.
New England finished a miserable 4-13 and in last place in the NFL. Belichick has been replaced by former assistant Jerod Mayo.
Belichick’s tenure came after a tumultuous season that seemed to test the relationship between him and Kraft.
Kraft referenced the tension between himself and Belichick during his turn to roast Brady, comparing the night to a family reunion.
He then mentioned how “like all family reunions, there are some people you just don’t want to run into” and then said hello to Belichick.
Belichick’s tenure ended with an emotional press conference by the now-former coach.
“For me this is a day of gratitude and celebration,” Belichick said at the time. “We had a vision of building a winner, building a championship football team here. And it’s exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations — the amount of success we were able to achieve together through a lot of hard work and the contributions of so many people.”
