New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he believes Bill Belichick will "absolutely" be the team's head coach in 2018 and dismissed the idea of trading the five-time Super Bowl winner, according to Peter King of MMQB.com.

"When you're lucky enough to have someone exceptional, you let them do their job and you get out of the way," Kraft said of Belichick.

On Friday, the trio of Kraft, Belichick, and Tom Brady denied a rift between them following an in-depth piece from ESPN's Seth Wickersham on the supposed growing tensions in New England.

In the wake of the report, some speculated that Belichick's time in New England could be coming to an end.

Kraft also denied ordering Belichick to trade Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, calling the report that he and the head coach spent half a day discussing what to do with their former backup quarterback "total fabrication and fiction."

Kraft added that he didn't speak to Belichick about moving Garoppolo from June until the trade deadline on Oct. 30, when the head coach brought the 49ers' offer to him and asked the owner to sign off on the transaction.

Asked for comment on the blowback to his report, Wickersham told King, "I absolutely stand by my story."