Bill Belichick's New York Jets Interest Only Known to 'Tight Circle': Report

The Bill Belichick interest in the New York Jets coaching job took an interesting turn in a recent report.

Dec 14, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head football coach Bill Belichick during half time at Dean E. Smith Center. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Reports indicated last week that Bill Belichick was interested in the New York Jets head coaching job. That interest was strong enough to get his camp to reach out to the Jets to gauge their interest in Belichick becoming the next head coach of the Jets.

Belichick eventually agreed to take the head coaching job at UNC, a decision that came as a surprise to many around the NFL. Arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, Belichick has had a tough time finding a job in the NFL for whatever reason.

However, those reports might've not been as clear as they initially were. When initially reported, the consensus was New York didn't want Belichick. The legendary head coach and Woody Johnson have an interesting history together, one that would suggest neither wants to work with the other.

That's why, when it was reported that Belichick wanted the Jets job, many questioned how accurate it was.

That was confirmed by Dianna Russini of The Athletic again on Monday, but there was much more to that than Belichick's camp reaching out to New York.

According to Russini, only a "small circle of people" in the building knew Belichick had an interest in coaching the Jets.

"For months, Belichick’s inner circle quietly conducted informal conversations with a few teams, testing the waters. A very small circle of people in the Jets building were made aware of his interest, though I was told no meeting or formal conversation ever happened because the UNC opportunity popped up. So, in the end, none of the talks — with the Jets or any other NFL team — turned into anything serious, and now North Carolina is Chapel Bill."

Whether it was higher-ups like Johnson or not wasn't specified, but it'd make sense if he understood Belichick wanted the job.

Either way, Russini makes it seem like New York wasn't the one to stop those conversations. If it weren't for the UNC job opening, a position Belichick instantly became attracted to and was named a fit for, there's a chance the Jets would've brought him in for an interview.

Missing out on one of the best coaches in league history is unfortunate, but that doesn't mean New York can't make the right hire in the offseason.

Johnson is expected to conduct a thorough search in hopes of finding the right answer for a Jets team that hasn't had the right head coach in a long time.

To that end, the Jets conducted their first general manager interview on Monday with former NFL GM Thomas Dimitroff. He is one of many GM candidates that are not currently working in the league that New York will interview in the coming weeks before the can start interviewing currently employed NFL personnel.