Despite his lofty credentials, Bill Belichick’s college football stint was a disaster. Under his guidance, the North Carolina Tar Heels went 4-8, the third-worst record in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year.
With his future in Division I football looking bleak, Belichick might be better suited for an NFL coaching role. That said, a team with which he had a colored past could be a good fit.
Craig Carton Urges This Team To Hire Bill Belichick
On the December 29 episode of his eponymous program, sports media personality Craig Carton advocated for the New York Jets to hire the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach.
“Belichick represents something we’ve never had, a guy that has WON! I would go with a bag of cash & dump it at the Belichick Hudson door… and say PLEASE! ” Carton said.
Carton believes that Bill Belichick will be the answer to the Jets’ misfortunes, especially their postseason drought, which started in 2011. However, as he mentioned, it would take a fortune to coax the 73-year-old out of college football. Belichick’s five-year contract with UNC includes a $10 million annual base salary, plus monetary incentives for winning milestones.
Apparently, those figures are nowhere near Belichick’s salary in his final years with the New England Patriots. Sportico reported in November 2023 that the three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year signed an extension worth an estimated $25 million annually.
It would be incomprehensible for the Jets to give current head coach Aaron Glenn another year. With one game left to play, New York’s AFC team only has three wins and is on a four-game losing streak.
The Jets have been atrocious offensively, scoring 14 points or fewer in eight games. Worst yet, they’re not better off on defense, which was supposedly Glenn’s specialty. They’re giving up 29.3 points per game (ranked 30th) and 348.4 yards per contest (ranked 23rd).
Belichick’s Odd Stints As Jets Head Coach
Belichick ascended to the Jets’ head coaching role twice. However, he never coached a game in this capacity.
In 1997, Bill Belichick became the Jets’ interim head coach. However, his longtime collaborator, Bill Parcells, took the role when the Patriots allowed the latter to coach in that position following his contract release from New England.
Two years later, Parcells stepped down and arranged for Belichick to succeed him. However, Belichick resigned after one day and infamously wrote his seven-word resignation letter on a napkin.
Soon after, Bill Belichick became the Patriots’ head coach, a job he fulfilled for 24 seasons. Meanwhile, the Jets have had nine head coaches (including interim coach Jeff Ulbricht after Robert Saleh’s firing) since Belichick took over in New England.
