Tom E. Curran and Mike Giardi weigh in on Jets head coach Robert Saleh getting fired, and if Bill Belichick would be the right person to step into the role.
The storyline is too enticing to ignore.
The New York Jets, having shockingly fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start to the 2024 season, turn to their old AFC East nemesis in Bill Belichick, who leads a resurgence in Gotham and gets to stick it to the New England Patriots team that fired him in January.
It would make for great entertainment -- but it's wholly unrealistic, says Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran.
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While reacting to Saleh's firing Tuesday on Arbella Early Edition, Curran explained why Belichick joining the Jets is highly unlikely -- mostly due to the presence of team owner Woody Johnson.
"I wholeheartedly agree the Cowboys would be the most fascinating (destination for Belichick)," Curran said, as seen in the video above. "When we talk about the Jets, he's never gonna work for an owner who's a boob like that. Never. Jerry Jones has the capacity for boobery, but he's a respected individual. Woody Johnson is not a respected individual."
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Belichick also has a history with the Jets: He spent three seasons as New York's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach from 1997 to 1999 and was set to succeed Bill Parcells as the franchise's next head coach in 2000. But in a stunning turn of events, Belichick resigned the day after he was hired in January 2000 -- the same month that Johnson purchased the franchise -- and joined the Patriots later that month.
Seven years later, it was the Jets and then-head coach Eric Mangini (a former Belichick assistant) who claimed the Patriots were illegally filming their defensive signals, setting off the scandal known as Spygate.
In other words, Belichick's disdain for the Jets runs deep to the point that he likely wouldn't return to the franchise under any circumstances, Curran believes.
"He walked away from the Jets and Woody Johnson 24 years ago," Curran said. "He's not going back to that organization, and I think he loathes them to the very marrow of his being. But the Cowboys would be fun."
Belichick also may prefer to take a head coaching job in the offseason with a clean slate, rather than being thrust into a role midseason without any of his preferred assistants. And there should be plenty of enticing openings in 2025, especially if teams like Dallas and the Philadelphia Eagles fall short of expectations.
So, no matter how much Belichick admires Aaron Rodgers and might enjoy the chance to coach against the Patriots, the thought of him in a green Jets hoodie seems like a pipe dream at the moment.
