Before Bill Belichick formally joined the University of North Carolina, the long-lasting head coach did his due diligence on the approaching NFL hiring cycle. Over the previous yr, reporters and pundits tried to attach Belichick to a lot of NFL teaching gigs, and thru all of it, there appeared to be one constant sentiment: he would by no means return to the Jets.
Not so quick, in response to Dianna Russini. According to The Athletic reporter, Belichick lately reached out to the Jets group to precise curiosity of their head teaching job. Brian Costello of the New York Post has confirmed the report, noting that it was Belichick himself who reached out to the Jets. There had been by no means any formal conversations between the 2 sides contemplating the speedy developments with the Tar Heels. But whereas Belichick’s camp examined the NFL waters in seek for his subsequent teaching gig, it’s surprising that he gave the Jets greater than a cursory look.
There’s been stress between the 2 sides for practically three many years. Belichick was famously chosen to exchange Bill Parcells because the Jets sideline chief, however after solely in the future within the function, he shocked the NFL world by resigning as “HC of the NYJ.” Belichick was shortly scooped up by the Patriots (who finally needed to ship the Jets a first-round choose), and the pinnacle coach proceeded to torment his former franchise over the next years.
Belichick dropped three-straight video games to the Jets to start his tenure in New England. After that, the Patriots proceeded to go 38-9 towards their division rival (together with playoffs), with Belichick incomes six Super Bowl rings throughout that span. The coach has additionally been publicly important of Jets proprietor Woody Johnson, and he’s carried that rhetoric into his 2024 media function. The Jets had been additionally accountable for launching the 2007 Spygate investigation, an element that Belichick has all the time held towards the rival (and former protege Eric Mangini). In different phrases, it could have been a surprising growth for the coach to all of the sudden go crawling again to the group.
On the flip aspect, if Belichick did return to the NFL, it was assumed he’d be taken with a win-now squad. The Jets had been constructed to contend for a Super Bowl in 2024 earlier than issues went off the rail. Belichick has additionally proven a deep respect for Aaron Rodgers, and with different foundational items on either side of the ball, you could possibly see why any coach would have an interest within the Jets job for 2025.
Belichick seems to be dedicated to UNC for the lengthy haul, so his reported curiosity within the Jets job would merely be a footnote in his soccer story. Still, there’s no denying that the pairing would have shocked the NFL world and commanded headlines for a lot of the offseason.
