Former Jets QB shares wild Bill Belichick theory

Former Jets quarterback and current NFL analyst Boomer Esiason believes longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could at least consider joining New York next offseason to get revenge on owner Robert Kraft.

“That’s gotta be a little dig at Robert Kraft and the Patriots, right? But if there’s only one team that goes after him, because (Jets owner) Woody Johnson is sick and tired of losing,” Esiason said about Belichick during Friday’s edition of the WFAN “Boomer and Gio” program, per Ryan Chichester of Audacy. “And that’s only if they lose this year, of course.”

As Rich Cimini once shared for ESPN, Belichick famously spurned the Jets to become head coach of the Patriots after the 1999 season. Belichick then guided New England to six Super Bowl championships through February 2019. Still, the club missed the playoffs three times over the past four years before Kraft went in a different direction and replaced Belichick with Jerod Mayo.

Belichick turned 72 years old this past April but reportedly is “interested in coaching” the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants or Philadelphia Eagles if any of those clubs have openings come January 2025. He earned his first two career Super Bowl rings serving as an assistant and defensive coordinator with the Giants from 1979 through the 1990 season, but Esiason thinks the living legend could have eyes for the Jets early next year.

“He believes in a heavy dose of revenge, I’m sure…if it were the Jets,” Esiason added about Belichick possibly coaching New England’s AFC East rival.

Esiason has ties to the Jets/Johnson, and the one-time NFL Most Valuable Player was seemingly spot-on when he hinted in January that it was a matter of when, not if, the league goes to an 18-game season. Belichick, meanwhile, likely wants to return to the sidelines because he is just 15 wins away from setting an NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined). 

As for the Jets, Johnson could clean house and show general manager Joe Douglas, head coach Robert Saleh and quarterback Aaron Rodgers the door if they don’t end the longest active playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues. Johnson possibly calling Belichick about saving the Jets if such a scenario played out could spark one of the more fascinating storylines in recent NFL history.