Bob Kraft's 11th Super Bowl: Three Regimes, One Standard — Why the Patriots Are the NFL's Gold Standard

When the New England Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl 60 with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos, it marked a milestone that no other franchise in the salary cap era can approach: Bob Kraft's 11th Super Bowl as owner.

What makes this one different — and perhaps most impressive — is that Kraft has done it with three entirely separate regimes. Parcells and Bledsoe. Belichick and Brady. Now Vrabel and May. Three different head coaches, three different quarterbacks, three different general managers, and the same result: the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The Empowerment Model

Dan Sileo has been hammering this point all season on The National Football Show, and Championship Sunday crystallized it: the difference between elite franchises and everyone else comes down to ownership philosophy.

"You know what you got to love about Bob Kraft? Bob Kraft hires a coach. Go do your job. What do you want? I want Josh McDaniels. I want Milton Williams. I want to draft Gonzalez. Go get it." — Dan Sileo

Sileo contrasted this directly with the Philadelphia Eagles, where the general manager sits in team meetings and the coaching hire process begins not with the head coach, but with the owner, the GM, and the owner's son.

Insider Adam Kaplan, who covers the Eagles, confirmed that when candidates interview for the Eagles' OC job, the first people they meet are Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, and Lurie's son — not head coach Nick Sirianni. "I wonder why nobody wants this job," co-host Xander Krause responded.

In New England, the structure is inverted. Sileo confirmed through conversations with Patriots executive Alonzo Highsmith that Vrabel reports directly to Kraft. "He barely talks to Elliot Wolf," Sileo said of the head coach's relationship with the general manager. "The guy's been to 11 Super Bowls. Robert Kraft's the best owner in football. It's not close."

Three Eras, One Constant

Consider the scope of what Kraft has built. The Parcells-Bledsoe era took New England to the Super Bowl. The Belichick-Brady dynasty produced nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships. After just four "down years," the Vrabel-May era already has the Patriots back on the biggest stage.

"Dude, the Patriots are the best franchise in pro football in the salary cap era," Sileo declared. "There's nobody near them. There's nobody close. This is Bob Kraft's 11th Super Bowl since he's owned the team. He's going for his seventh Super Bowl win."

Krause echoed the sentiment: "The Patriots should be back, dude. The Patriots could be back. I like Mike Vrabel a ton. I've been high on Drake May all year. That kid's a stud."

The Buffalo Bills Problem

The Patriots' return also shines a harsh light on the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots were bad for four years — and the Bills couldn't capitalize. Now New England is back in the Super Bowl with the second-youngest quarterback to ever reach the game.

"If you're the Buffalo Bills as an organization, the Patriots sucked for what, four years? And you couldn't catch them. And now the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl with the youngest quarterback ever to get to the game next to Dan Marino." — Dan Sileo

Sileo believes the Bills' window is closing rapidly. "I think Josh Allen and the Bills are in trouble because the Patriots are only going to get better, which may lead to the Bills' window of opportunity to close rapidly. You had a couple years by yourself owning that division and now the Patriots are back."

The contrast between the two AFC East franchises illuminates everything. Buffalo has a franchise quarterback and can't build around him. New England built the franchise first, found the quarterback second, and empowered the coach to put it all together.

9-0 on the Road

One stat encapsulates this Patriots team: they went 9-0 on the road this season, the first team in NFL history to accomplish that feat. They boast the eighth-ranked defense in football. They have Josh McDaniels calling plays — a coordinator Sileo calls "the best offensive coordinator in pro football" — and a defensive line anchored by Milton Williams.

Drake May, the second-youngest quarterback to ever reach a Super Bowl, showed his mettle in the AFC Championship when he reportedly went off-script on the game-sealing play, calling his own number on a quarterback keeper rather than handing the ball off. Vrabel sprinted down the sideline in celebration.

"That's empowerment," Sileo said. "That's a coach who wanted Josh McDaniels. That's a coach who wanted certain players. Jeffrey Lurie doesn't empower people like that. And this is what I'm talking about — costing a franchise Super Bowl appearances."

Bob Kraft bought the Patriots from Victor Kiam. He's now headed to his 11th Super Bowl. There are only 60 in history. The argument about the best owner in football isn't even close anymore.