On this day 17 years ago, Bill Belichick resigned as head coach of the New York Jets after just one day with the title.
It’s been 17 years since New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick left the New York Jets after he became their head coach.
Belichick became the Jets coach on January 3, 2000, replacing Bill Parcells. The next day, at the press conference where he would be introduced as the Jets new coach, he promptly resigned.
“I resign as the HC of the NYJ,” he said.
Shortly after leaving the Jets, Belichick became the head coach of the Patriots. In his first press conference with the Patriots, he joked about his departure from the Jets.
“Hopefully, this press conference will go a little better than the last one I had,” he joked.
The Jets have had five head coaches, Al Groh, Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan, and Todd Bowles, since Belichick left. They have a regular season record of 132-140, have six wins in the playoffs and have won just one division title in the last 17 years. Gang Green hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010.
The Patriots have a 201-71 regular-season record, 22 playoff wins, 15 division titles, and four Super Bowl titles since Belichick became their head coach. They finished this season with an NFL-best 14-2 record and are looking for their fifth Super Bowl title. The Jets were 5-11 and missed the playoffs for the 11th time in 17 years.
One can only wonder what would have happened if Parcells’s ultimate plan for the Jets came to fruition.
