Kraft did the only thing he could do after the Jerod Mayo firing. He took blame for the "situation" and set out to fix his fallen franchise.

Here we are — one year, one overmatched one-and-done Belichick successor, and you’re right back where you started from last January.

He fired Mayo, his hand-picked successor to Bill Belichick, and leapt back into the unknown; a leap that left the rest of the Patriots hanging, with the future of every coach and front-office member suspended until further notice. With all eyes on him, Kraft must now stick the landing.