Don’t expect Bill Belichick to leave his seemingly endless gigs in NFL media to head to the Meadowlands.
Despite his history with the franchise and their opening at head coach following the firing of Robert Saleh in the wake of a Week 5 loss, Belichick is reportedly unlikely to entertain the idea of working for the troubled franchise.
In an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that Belichick probably does not see the Jets as an appealing enough situation to disrupt his year off and jump back into coaching.
“I think we should probably put to bed the Bill Belichick to the New York Jets conversation,” Russini said. “I think it’s a fun idea; I think it’s sometimes humorous knowing the way it ended with Bill Belichick in New York. But Bill Belichick wants to work for a really good owner, and I don’t believe that he thinks (Jets owner) Woody Johnson is.”
In particular, Belichick and another top candidate who did not take a job in 2024, Mike Vrabel, likely want to stay away from Johnson. Russini said that what ultimately decides who takes the Jets job may be who has the most stomach for the owner, who has a checkered reputation around the league.
“Who wants to work for Woody Johnson? That’s going to be the question,” Russini said. “These are two head coaches (Belichick and Vrabel) in my opinion… that are going to have choices. So they’re going to probably want to work for an owner that they believe knows what they’re doing. And historically, I think we have a lot of questions about Woody Johnson’s doing.”
So, for any big fans of the ManningCast, Coach with Bill Belichick, the Let’s Go podcast, or any of the other platforms where Belichick is analyzing football this season, rest assured. Belichick isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.