Patriots Legend Who Betrayed Jets Lands Spot On Infamous List

New York Jets fans were given a dark reminder last week about a New England Patriots icon who betrayed them.

In fact, there were multiple reasons for Jets fans to cringe while reading CBS Sports’ new list of the “Top 25 worst NFL coaching hires this century” (penned by Cody Benjamin). First off, Adam Gase was featured on the list at No. 12, which may have disgusted the Jets faithful either with the mention of Gase’s name alone or by insinuating that eleven hires could have been worse.

But then, all the way at the bottom of the list, below the No. 1 worst hire (Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars) was none other than Bill Belichick’s name next to the Jets, with a No. “1b” signifier and an asterisk added to the entry.

Was Benjamin insinuating that Belichick’s brief tenure with the Jets (really no tenure at all) was worse than anything else on the list?

Not quite.

“The asterisk denotes the special circumstances here: Belichick never coached a single game for the Jets,” Benjamin wrote. “But it's not like he was just negotiating to become New York's head man in 2000. He agreed to the deal. He was announced as Bill Parcells' successor. And then, one day later, hours before his introductory news conference, Belichick delivered his infamous resignation "letter" -- barely seven words, scribbled on a napkin -- and hopped across the division to lead the New England Patriots.”

“It's a defining story of NFL history, in part because of how much the involved teams diverged: Belichick left the Jets at the altar, and for the better part of 25 years and counting, they've been one of the most dysfunctional operations in sports, last claiming a playoff win in 2010,” Benjamin continued. “Not only that, but they had to watch Belichick dominate football as the six-time Super Bowl champion mastermind of the Patriots dynasty. It doesn't get much rougher than that.”

Would Belichick have had similar success with the Jets? It’s hard to argue that he would have, unless, of course, Tom Brady somehow ended up on Gang Green. 

Now, as Belichick has taken his talents to North Carolina, Jets fans don’t want to continue dwelling on what could have been. They’re banking on Aaron Glenn to deliver New York into a golden era that has been an awfully long time coming.