Insiders address Jets, Bill Belichick rumors after firing of Robert Saleh

Even before New York Jets owner Woody Johnson shockingly fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, some analysts and reporters mentioned that former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick could serve as Saleh's long-term replacement beginning in January 2025.

Multiple insiders poured cold water over that idea on Wednesday.

"H e left amid turmoil within the Jets ownership group because of concerns with Woody Johnson and the other potential owner, " The Athletic's Chad Graff wrote about Belichick famously resigning as head coach of the Jets in January 2000 without having ever coached a game for the organization. " ...And thus began what can generously be called Belichick’s distaste for the Jets, one that has carried on for 25 years and shown no signs of changing anytime soon ."

Graff noted that Belichick has a " bitterness more than two decades in the making " toward the Jets and " took pride in beating them 15 straight times from 2016 to 2023 " during his New England tenure. Outsiders may respond that Belichick turns 73 years old this coming April, is just 15 wins away from setting an NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined), and seemingly should welcome all opportunities that become available, considering he went unhired last winter.

Nevertheless, The Athletic's Dianna Russini insisted during a Wednesday appearance on " The Dan Patrick Show " that " we should probably put to bed the Bill Belichick to the New York Jets conversation " even before the next hiring cycle gets underway.

"B ill Belichick wants to work for a really good owner, and I don’t believe that he thinks (Jets owner) Woody Johnson is, " Russini explained, according to Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing.

For a piece published Thursday, one unnamed executive from another team told The Athletic's Mike Sando he felt Johnson's " rivalry " with the New York Giants " was a factor " in the decision to part ways with Saleh. The Jets fell to 2-3 on the season via a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London this past Sunday, while the Giants earned a 29-20 win at the Seattle Seahawks that afternoon to improve to 2-3.

"W ith the Giants going to Seattle and getting a big win while the Jets struggled again, Woody can’t lose the back page (of the tabloids) to the Giants, " that exec added. " Not when you’ve got Aaron Rodgers and they’ve got Daniel Jones ."

Such comments show what some within the NFL community think about Johnson's management of the Jets. Whether or not Belichick shares such opinions is unknown, but it appears ahead of Halloween that knowledgeable individuals believe the living legend wouldn't even accept the call if Johnson contacted him between now and the league's next " Black Monday ."