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During his introductory press conference at Chapel Hill, new Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick was asked whether he’d jump back to the NFL after a year or two in college.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said, to applause in the room.
Beyond the fact that it would have been impossible in that setting to say, “I’d love to,” actions always speak louder than words. And the only action that matters in this case is the negotiation of his contract with UNC.
Belichick negotiated a buyout that drops from $10 million to $1 million on June 1, 2025. That puts him in play for the 2026 hiring cycle, if anyone from the NFL wants to hire him.
For now, no one does. Right or wrong, it’s crickets for Belichick from pro football.
People in Belichick’s orbit are perplexed. Others in league circles point to the lack of interest in Belichick as proof that, as one source estimated, two thirds of all NFL owners don’t know what they’re doing. Words like “dysfunctional,” “arrogant,” and “clueless” are used. And rightfully so, in more than a few cases.
Two tests must be passed to get a license to drive a car. None must be passed to own an NFL team. The requirements are: (1) have enough money to buy it; or (2) be the one who inherits it when the current owner croaks.
That’s why, in a move that was far less Woodward and Bernstein than it was Belichick and Lombardi, word emerged on Saturday that Belichick reached out to the Jets, after the coaching vacancy there arose. It surely wasn’t about Belichick wanting to coach the Jets. It surely wasn’t simple due diligence; if so, where’s the report that he called the Bears and the Saints? (Then again, maybe he hasn’t decided to leak it yet.)
This was about, in my own assessment, one thing. Making a bet that the Jets will continue to stink, and planting a flag for the world to see that the Jets could have had the greatest coach in football history, and that owner Woody Johnson was too stupid to see it.
It all adds up to Belichick keeping himself in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bill-belichick-didnt-come-leave-142004742.html
Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-15 14:20:00
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