Earlier than Invoice
Belichick formally joined the College of North Carolina, the enduring head coach did his due diligence on the upcoming NFL hiring cycle. Over the previous 12 months, reporters and pundits tried to attach Belichick to plenty of NFL teaching gigs, and thru all of it, there gave the impression to be one constant sentiment: He would by no means return to the Jets.
Not so quick, according to Dianna Russini. Based on The Athletic reporter, Belichick lately reached out to the Jets group to precise curiosity of their head teaching job. There have been by no means any formal conversations between the 2 sides contemplating the speedy developments with the Tar Heels. However 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 pressure between the 2 sides for practically three a long time. Belichick was famously chosen to switch Invoice
Parcells because the Jets sideline chief, however after solely someday within the position, he shocked the NFL world by resigning as “HC of the NYJ.” Belichick was shortly scooped up by the Patriots (who in the end 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 in opposition to their division rival (together with playoffs), with Belichick incomes six Tremendous Bowl rings throughout that span. The coach has additionally been publicly vital of Jets proprietor Woody
Johnson, and he’s carried that rhetoric into his 2024 media position. The Jets had been additionally chargeable for launching the 2007 Spygate investigation, an element that Belichick has all the time held in opposition to the rival (and former protege Eric
Mangini). In different phrases, it might have been a surprising improvement for the coach to abruptly go crawling again to the group.
On the flip facet, if Belichick did return to the NFL, it was assumed he’d be concerned with a win-now squad. The Jets had been constructed to contend for a Tremendous 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 would 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. Nonetheless, there’s no denying that the pairing would have shocked the NFL world and commanded headlines for a lot of the offseason.