Some predict that a former New York Jets coach could return in 2024
With seven fateful words, he changed the course of New York Jets history. He didn’t even deign to say them; he wrote them on a napkin.
I resign as HC of the NYJ.
If you ask Bill Belichick, he did it because Leon Hess had died and he didn’t have a good relationship with either Woody Johnson or James Dolan, the two businessmen in competition to buy the Jets. (If that was the reason, Belichick was probably quite wise.)
Others claim that Belichick was angry Bill Parcells would stay on as general manager even as he resigned as head coach. This would leave Belichick, to paraphrase Parcells’ own words from his time with the Patriots, cooking the dinner without shopping for some of the groceries.
Twenty-five years later, there is some speculation that Belichick could come full circle. He left the Patriots and is not employed as a head coach for the 2024 season. Belichick joined The Pat McAfee Show for live draft coverage and will reportedly join Manningcast weekly during Monday Night Football along with Peyton and Eli Manning.
Since Belichick is 72 years old, there is a time limit on how much longer he can coach. However, there are two achievements that he likely still covets: the all-time NFL head coach wins record and perhaps tying or exceeding Tom Brady’s Super Bowl rings. Belichick currently has 333 career wins (regular season and playoffs), the second-most all-time to Don Shula’s 347.
Therefore, it stands to reason that he would be willing to join a win-now team for a short duration. That’s where the Jets come in.
If the Jets don’t succeed this year, Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh will likely lose their jobs. However, Aaron Rodgers may or may not choose to retire; he has indicated he wants to play a few more seasons.
What if Belichick would join the Jets in 2025 in the quest for another championship? He could gain full control of the team with a Hall of Fame quarterback at the helm.
At least, this is what WFAN’s Boomer Esiason recently suggested on the “Boomer & Gio Show.”
Esiason explained, “That’s gotta be a little dig at Robert Kraft and the Patriots, right? But if there’s only one team that goes after him, because Woody Johnson is sick and tired of losing. And that’s only if they lose this year, of course.”
Boomer should slow down, though. What was that about why Belichick left the Jets in the first place? Something about Woody Johnson possibly becoming the owner? And who’s the Jets’ owner now… oh, right, it’s Woody Johnson.
Furthermore, Belichick has clearly displayed a peculiar and specific animosity towards the Jets during his seasons with the Patriots. From ordering the thermometers by the Jets’ locker room to say -20 degrees to trading with the Steelers to prevent the Jets from drafting Broderick Jones, he clearly wants to stick it to his former team.
It’s highly unlikely Belichick would ever return to New York. And would Jets fans even want him to?
