Bill Belichick reportedly had interest in coaching Jets before taking UNC job
Belichick previously had two stints as the Jets' head coach, but never coached a game for the franchise.
Bill Belichick ultimately decided to resume his coaching career at the college level. But his decision to coach North Carolina came after he sniffed around the NFL, including checking the possibility of coaching a former rival.
The former Patriots coach expressed interest in the Jets’ head coaching vacancy prior to taking the North Carolina job, The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini reported Saturday. A few members of New York’s organization caught wind of Belichick’s interest in potentially coaching the franchise in late November after members of the coach’s inner circle had informal discussions with teams, according to Russini.
Belichick’s reported interest in the Jets is a bit of a shock for numerous reasons. Of course, Belichick surprisingly stepped down as the organization’s head coach a day after he was promoted in order to become the head coach of the Patriots in 2000. That was actually Belichick’s second stint as Jets head coach, after he held the title for a week in 1997 when Bill Parcells was hired away from the Patriots.
Additionally, Belichick hasn’t shared many kind sentiments about Jets owner Woody Johnson. As he pointed to Johnson’s bid to become owner as the main reason why he walked away from New York in 2000, Belichick took some shots at him when the team fired Robert Saleh earlier this season.
“Just seemed like a little early to pull the trigger on that one to me,” Belichick said on the “Let’s Go!” podcast in October. “But not out of character for the owner. Woody’s always been kind of hard to predict what he’s gonna do. Some of it just is hard to make sense out of, but I think Saleh did a good job there. He brought a strong culture to the defense and obviously not quite there yet, but a long way to go in the season, seemed like a premature move.”
Belichick continued to take shots at Johnson and the Jets’ organization when he appeared on the “ManningCast” in the wake of Saleh’s firing.
“That’s kind of what it’s been there at the Jets — barely won over 30 percent in the last 10 years. The owner being the owner, just ready, fire, aim,” Belichick said on the “ManningCast.” “I’m not a big Jets fan, in case you don’t know that. I like Fireman Ed, but that’s it.
“Coach Saleh did a good job with that program. He brought in a culture, a level of toughness and competitiveness. … I thought Coach Saleh really did a good job with this team and they’re probably not that far from winning.”
There was some built animosity between the two sides over Belichick’s 24-year tenure as Patriots head coach, too. The Jets were the team that complained to the league office about the Patriots’ method to film opponents’ signals, which started the SpyGate scandal in 2007. There were also a few seasons after that were the two teams clashed for the divisional title, with New York upsetting New England in a playoff game.
So, considering everything that’s transpired between Belichick and the Jets over the years, him coaching the franchise was likely a longshot. A report from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham on Thursday indicated as much, citing the quotes Belichick made about Johnson and the Jets earlier in the season. Belichick and his inner circle viewed that the Bears gig was the best head coach vacancy, but he felt that he was unlikely to get that job if he pursued it, Wickersham reported.
Now, Belichick will test his coaching acumen in wats foreign to him. He’s never held an official coaching position in the college game. But even as he’s only 14 wins away from Don Shula’s record, it appears Belichick wants to make things work in Chapel Hill.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said when asked if he’d jump back to the NFL if he had some at UNC during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
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