‘There was something he liked about the Jets’ situation’: Bill Belichick was reportedly interested in coaching New York
“The timing didn't really work out.”
Bill Belichick was reportedly in talks with the New York Jets before he accepted his new head coaching role at UNC last week, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Belichick had reached out to former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who was “a little stunned,” but proposed the idea to New York’s front office.
“By then, the conversation between Belichick and North Carolina had escalated,” Breer said. “Bill needed answers from the Jets. The Jets, of course, weren’t prepared to give him answers because they have to go through a full process. So the timing didn’t really work out.”
Breer also revealed that another NFL team with a head coach opening didn’t hear from Belichick.
“It’s not like Bill was calling around to everyone,” Breer said. “So there was something he liked about the Jets’ situation.”
After a gig with the Falcons fell through earlier this year, Belichick needed to test the waters in the pros.
For the six-time Super Bowl winning coach, joining the rival Jets would’ve been a shocking decision. New York fired their head coach Robert Saleh in early October, a move that Belichick was critical of. He affirmed he’s “not a big Jets fan” and took a shot at the team’s owner Woody Johnson. Jeff Ulbrich is now acting as the interim coach.
“I do think it illustrates that Bill at least wanted to make sure that the door was closed on the NFL for right now before he jumped into the college ranks,” said Breer.
Belichick now has the task of heading North Carolina’s football program, one that hasn’t won an ACC title since 1980 and overall went 6-6 this season. He will have full control over how the program is run, a point that caused clashes when discussing coaching jobs with other NFL teams. Whether or not he can turn the Tar Heels around remains to be seen.
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