Patriots owner admits to tension, but says dynasty can survive if one thing happens

Robert Kraft has plenty of things to say before Sunday's AFC title game

After ESPN released a report earlier this month that suggested that the Patriots dynasty was crumbling from within to due to tension in the organization, we heard from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who were both forced to face the media multiple times after the report came out. 

However, one person we didn't hear from was Patriots owner Robert Kraft. 

Although MMQB.com reported that Kraft was upset with the situation, he never actually answered any questions about it until Sunday, just hours before the Patriots were set to host the Jaguars in the AFC Championship (which you can stream right here on CBSSports.com beginning at 3:05 p.m. ET). 

During an interview with NFL Network, Kraft admitted that there was some tension in the organization, but he also pointed out that something like that was normal in a successful company. 

"If you run any kind of company, any kind of business, the more successful you are, you have strong personalities, there's always a certain amount of tension," Kraft said. "That just goes with the agenda."

Kraft is basically saying that if your company (or team) is successful, tension is going to exist and that's not necessarily a bad thing. 

If there is tension, the big question is whether or not the big three -- Brady, Belichick and Kraft -- can continue to co-exist in New England. During his interview with NFL Network, Kraft gave an interesting answer when he was asked if he thought the Patriots could keep the pieces of the dynasty together for the next three, four or five years. 

"In life, the hardest thing is to surround yourself with quality people, even in a marriage if it's your partner, and then having continuity," Kraft said. "Life is difficult, especially if you're doing things at a high level. Having continuity, keeping things going. The fact that Tommy and Bill Belichick and my family have been together for 18 years. That's unheard of. There's a lot of strong minded people, but when you have something good going, everyone has to get their egos checked in and try and hold it together."

Kraft's message seems pretty clear: Everyone needs to check their ego at the door for the greater good and the greater good in this case is the Patriots keeping their dynasty together for a few more years. 

For the first time in 18 years, there is a slight cloud of uncertainty hanging over Foxborough and it will be interesting to see what happens when their season ends, especially if it ends on Sunday against Jacksonville.