The two-decade run of success by the New England Patriots was put under the microscope over the last few weeks via Apple TV+'s "The Dynasty: New England Patriots." The docuseries covering the lifespan of the club's 20-year run of dominance headlined by six Super Bowl championships concluded last week, and it has drawn an array of reactions from viewers. Critics pointed out what appeared to be a slanted angle against former head coach Bill Belichick. One person who also seemed a bit miffed by how the series unfolded was former Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who was a key figure within the 10-part piece.
"I felt like I got kinda duped," McCourty told fellow ex-Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, via Pro Football Talk. "I was like, 'Man, this is gonna be great. Like 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."
Harrison also acknowledged some of the anti-Belichick sentiment that folks felt was conveyed in the series and defended his former head coach.
"They act like the last three or four years cause the Patriots have struggled that Bill can't coach," Harrison said. "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 added: "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 Dillion, he brings in a Randy Moss, he brings in a Rodney Harrison. And I just don't think that he got enough credit, enough respect, enough props. Man, this dude is the greatest coach of all time."
Another critique of the series was the small portion it paid to the club's Super Bowl titles in 2003 and 2004, which initially solidified the dynasty.
"It didn't tell the stories like of me coming and Corey Dillion," said Harrison, who signed with the Patriots in the offseason before the 2003 season. "I interviewed for five or six hours while I was in New York and all they had me saying was, '(Expletive) 'em all. (Expletive) 'em all.' Like that's it."
Also featured in the series was former Patriots players and owner Robert Kraft being critical of Belichick for his handling of Super Bowl LII where the club fell to the Philadelphia Eagles.