ORLANDO, Fla. _ The backdrop is different _ from subzero Minnesota to the swaying palm trees of central Florida _ but the feeling is the same.
Losing the Super Bowl is losing the Super Bowl.
"The fact that we lost, and the way we did, I still haven't gotten over it," New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Monday on the first full day of the NFL's annual March meetings.
Seven weeks after the Patriots suffered a 44-31 loss to Philadelphia in Super Bowl LII, Kraft was questioned on a variety of topics, including the future of All-Pro Rob Gronkowski, reports of personality clashes within the organization, and coach Bill Belichick's decision to bench starting cornerback Malcolm Butler.
"I have faith in Bill as coach," Kraft said. "I don't think there's anyone (else) who has the football knowledge and expertise and understands personnel and is able to merge those. As someone privileged to own one of these teams, I encourage him to keep going with his instincts."
Butler, who clinched the Super Bowl victory over Seattle with an interception at the goal line, has since signed with Tennessee in free agency.
"I had hoped he'd be a Patriot for all his days," Kraft said. "He's a great guy. I'm sorry it didn't work out for him with us, but I'm happy he got the contract he got."
Although Kraft said he has seen Gronkowski at the team's facility this offseason, he didn't shed any definitive light on whether the playmaking tight end will play next season.
Kraft said he has met individually with Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady and acknowledged they haven't always been on the same page, but that success can't be achieved without some conflict.
"In any successful business or marriage, if you have a good relationship, there'll be times when you disagree," he said. "Hopefully, you come together, have a meeting of the minds, and discuss things.
"The residual of this (Super Bowl) loss was really hard on everyone. But I sort of see that as a high-class problem."
The interview ended on an emotional note, as Kraft discussed allowing students from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., to use the Patriots airplane so they could attend the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
"When they called and asked would you send a plane and help take the wounded kids and their families and kids who couldn't go on a normal plane, we didn't hesitate a minute," he said. "Because think of it, all of you who have kids, think about losing one of your kids. You wake up in the morning and they go to school and don't come home at night.
"I just thought this is a way for our organization to be able to reach out to those people who are hurting bad. I can't think of a worse, unnatural thing of losing your child."
