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Bill Belichick will enter his 24th season as head coach for the New England Patriots. He is just 20 victories away from passing Don Shula as the all-time winningest NFL coach. More importantly, he helped the AFC East squad win six Super Bowls in nine appearances.
But aside from being the primary mentor in Foxborough, he has also been the team’s de facto general manager at the same time. He has the final say on football-related decisions, even if New England also has a director of player personnel.
Being a coach and front office executive simultaneously enticed him to jump ship from the New York Jets to the Patriots. But Bill Belichick’s transfer from The Big Apple to Beantown in 2000 was controversial because he only became the Jets’ head coach for one day.
Belichick spurned the Jets
When Bill Parcells took over the New York Jets, he hired Belichick as his defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. They used their football wizardry to complete an eight-win turnaround in year one and a division title in 1998. Unfortunately, the Jets lost to the Broncos in that year’s AFC Championship Game.
Parcells left the Jets after the 1999 season but arranged with the management to have Bill Belichick take over from him. However, Belichick thought he would have complete control over football-related decisions as a coach/general manager. Instead, Parcells stayed as the team’s GM for the 2000 season.
Belichick felt the Jets pulled the rug under him. That’s why he turned what was supposed to be an introductory press conference as Jets head coach on January 4, 2000, into a surprise resignation. He formalized his designation by writing, “I resign as HC of the NYJ,” on a napkin.
The Patriots offered Belichick a way out
After firing Pete Carroll, New England has already sought the Jets’ permission to interview Belichick for their vacant head coaching position. Unfortunately, Bill Belichick initially stayed with the Jets. But not long after, he joined the Patriots as head coach and general manager.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft offered him the dual role after making a mistake with Parcells when he was New England's head coach. While Parcells was their main mentor from 1993 to 1996, Kraft wanted to have a say in roster decisions.
That dynamic led to a fiasco in the 1996 NFL Draft wherein Parcells wanted to select defensive end Tony Brackens. Meanwhile, Kraft opted for wide receiver Terry Glenn. Parcells left the Patriots for the Jets the following season.
Adding insult to injury, they used Belichick to become the Jets’ interim head coach because Parcells was still under contract with New England. They worked their way around NFL rules by hiring Parcells as a consultant.
The Patriots didn’t want to make the same mistake, letting Bill Belichick have the final say in building the roster. The plan worked as New England became the NFL’s most dominant team for two decades, winning 17 division titles, including 11 straight from 2009 to 2019.
Bill Belichick became Bill Parcells’ top deputy
Belichick started to work with “The Big Tuna” with the New York Giants in 1979. He was a defensive assistant while Parcells was the linebackers coach back then. Parcells became head coach four years later, while Belichick handled the linebackers and special teams.
In 1985, Bill Belichick became Parcells’ defensive coordinator with the G-Men. It was a move that brought the Giants to prominence by winning two Super Bowls in five seasons. The Parcells-Belichick partnership helped the Giants outlast the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.
After the 1990 season, the Wesleyan alum became head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Meanwhile, Parcells had a brief coaching sabbatical. They will have a second act in New York shortly after, leading to a complicated divorce.
