NFL
Why did Bill Belichick sue the New York Jets?
The NFL icon has been touted as a potential replacement for Robert Saleh but he has a controversial past with the Jets franchise.
Today’s news of Robert Saleh’s dismissal as head coach of the New York Jets has sparked great uncertainty about the team’s direction.
Eager to make the most of the final years of Aaron Rodgers’ talent at quarterback, the Jets front office have acted swiftly after an uninspiring start to the 2024 season. Saleh’s replacement will likely be a ‘win-now’ coach, tasked with getting the best out of the team’s existing resources.
With that remit, you would expect six-time Super Bowl champions Bill Belichick to be included in conversations about the vacant position. But Belichick shares an infamous history with the Jets, centred around one of the most shocking events in NFL history.
Bill Belichick’s controversial past with the New York Jets
From 1997 to 1999 Belichick had been assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Jets, serving under long-time mentor Bill Parcells. When Parcells stepped down after the 1999 season he had already arranged for Belichick to replace him, but his understudy had other ideas.
Just minutes before his unveiling as new head coach of the Jets, Belichick passed a team officials a resignation note hastily written on a napkin. It simply read, ‘I resign as HC of the NYJ.’
Belichick went on to give the planned press conference, turning it into a 30-minute speech to explain instead his decision to resign. Soon after Belichick was unveiled as the new head coach of the New England Patriots, who had asked for permission to interview Belichick just days earlier. The Jets had turned down that request.
A bitter contractual dispute ensued and Belichick sued both the Jets and the NFL in a bid to free himself from his contract with his former team. He filed for a restraining order against the Jets and the league, insisting that he was “being prevented from earning a living.”
The matter was settled, albeit contentiously, when NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered the Patriots to give the Jets a first-round pick for the 2000 NFL Draft. It came to be viewed as a worthy sacrifice for the Patriots as Belichick led the team to six Super Bowl victories, becoming the most decorate head coach in NFL history.