In NFL rumors, Bill Belichick allegedly had representatives informally contact the New York Jets to gauge their interest in him as head coach.
He took the job as head coach of the University of North Carolina head coach when the Jets did not reciprocate the interest.
Diana Russini of The Athletic reported this flabbergasting news. Jets reporter Connor Hughes confirmed it.
No lede could effectively convey the preposterousness of this idea. But let’s suspend disbelief for the moment and look at this objectively not from Belichick’s perspective, but from Jets owner Woody Johnson’s viewpoint.
In that vein, it’s even more ridiculous.
Woody Has His Ego and Pride
Johnson’s life has been spent as “rich guy.”
He hit the lottery at birth and lived like it. During his life, there has never been a notable individual accomplishment based on aptitude, skill, or education. Even his past status as Ambassador to the United Kingdom that President Trump bestowed upon him did nothing to validate him.
He likes being referred to as “Ambassador Johnson” even though the job is a political appointment and a meaningless one at that. It’s part of his desperation to be more than a trust fund baby. But he will never escape it. He’s certainly not going to debase himself further by bending the knee to Belichick.
Would he willingly accept Belichick when it’s clear that the only reason Belichick would even think about the Jets is because it’s 4 a.m. and there’s nobody attractive left at the bar?
He’s Not Hiring Someone Who Publicly Mocked Him
As recently as mid-October, after Johnson fired head coach Robert Saleh, Belichick said the following:
And that’s the public snark. Rest assured, he’s said much worse privately and it’s gotten back to Johnson ad nauseam.
Then there are the Belichick sycophants who sneer at the mere mention of the organization. Is Johnson going to be ok with Josh McDaniels? Mike Lombardi? Matt Patricia? Joe Judge?
The entire Belichick crew — none of whom are currently working in the NFL and are likely following him to UNC — has been nothing but brutal in its treatment of the Jets.
Why would he even entertain the notion?
No Sense in a Football Sense
Woody and the Jets went all-in with Aaron Rodgers, who is past his sell-by date at 41. Now they’re winding up an absolute disaster of a season with an extensive rebuild on the horizon.
Are they trusting Belichick to oversee that rebuild when he’ll be 73 by the 2025 NFL Draft?
And Super Bowls aside, what are his objective credentials to be entrusted with the endeavor? Nobody else is hiring him because nobody is sure what they’re getting if they have Belichick without Tom Brady. That’s why he’s going to UNC.
Woody Johnson is not Witty Johnson, but if he wanted to verbally knock Belichick all the way to his new job in Chapel Hill, one response could have done it: “Is he bringing Brady? If he is, we can talk.”
Then the odds of success would be higher than hiring Belichick alone. Much higher when looked at in the context of Belichick’s 84-103 career record and three playoff games (with one win) in all those years he functioned as head coach without Brady.
The odds regarding potential Jets hires and their future will be arriving in real time as Johnson decides how to move forward. But it will not nor should it involve Belichick or anyone connected to him.
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