Bill Belichick continues to be full of surprises. Last week he shocked pretty much everyone when he took the head coaching job at UNC, bringing his brand of football to a college team for the first time.
And on Sunday we found out what unlikely NFL team Belichick had interest in before he got involved with UNC. Are you ready?
The New York Jets. The same team Belichick left suddenly 24 years ago after less than a day as head coach. According to The Athletic’s Diana Russini, the Jets were “informed” around two weeks ago that Belichick had “interest in their organization.”
It’s unclear what “interest in their organization” really meant, but the Jets are a team that could have been exactly what Belichick was looking for. They have an opening for a new head coach (Robert Saleh was fired after Week 5) and general manager (Joe Douglas was fired after week 11). While those are typically separate positions, Belichick served as both GM and head coach during his many years with the New England Patriots. His preference for that kind of structure may have hampered his search for a new job at the end of last season, since most teams prefer to employ a separate head coach and GM.
Russini said the Jets were “stunned” to find out Belichick, who had quit all those years ago by writing a note on a napkin that said “I resign as HC of the NYJ,” was interested in a reunion.
Nothing came of his interest, though. Very few people within the Jets were made aware of a possible Belichick partnership. According to Russini, the Jets and Belichick never got to the point of meetings or a formal discussion before the UNC train got rolling.