TOTALLY FALSE. I was pissed at him from that day forward and so were many other Jets Fans. He renegged on his agreement w/Mr. Hess after cashing many fat paychecks b/c he had agreed to be the HC. He cheated on his wife, he cheated the NFL and he cheated on the Mr. Hess. Thats who he is.
Shame on Parcells for reaching out to the NYJ (they didn't return the favor because they knew it was tampering).....but blame Kraft for reneging on Parcells contract. Kraft knew if he tampered with Parcells power, he would leave. He didn't care. He wanted the personnel function separate as under the Dick Steinberg years when Kraft grew up with the Pats.
Bigger 'what if' is if Peyton Manning had come out in 1997 when we had the #1 pick. To say that Belichick, without Brady, would have been what he has been in NE is asinine. The only reason NYJ fans wanted Belichick was because it was the way we brought in Parcells as a 'consultant.' Jet fans figured by the time Belichick took over as HC, Parcells would have won a SB. So if he was great or sucked, who cares ? Parcells would have delivered and then we take 4-6 years of Belichick, good or bad. Fair price to pay for Parcells and a shot at a SB. Nobody wanted Belichick....NOBODY.
actually BB had an ax to grind with the jets back when kotite and crew took brady in front of the browns in the 95 draft. jil
false as well. He was widely known as a defensive genius w/the highest football IQ in the NFL and the Jets specifically negotiated a HUGE contract w/BB to be the DC and then HC B/C Mr. Hess knew that Parcells would only be HC for a few years.
Not as HC !!! You guys forget how far his star had fallen.....he couldn't GET a job as DC after the Browns debacle (which I admit was not his fault). I remember Peter King's piece in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED where one exec said that Belichick was at a crossroads, and could either get moving again closer to Parcells or become another Ray Handley and head for coaching extinction.
Non-event...happens all the time. You really think the guy was mad at the Jets because they ended up taking a guy who never panned out ? Both teams should have taken Saap !!
You're just wrong. He was by far the highest pd DC in the NFL because he was a recognized football genius and had agreed to be the next HC and also Parcells tapped him as his successor and Mr. Hess agreed. That was the deal and that was the succession plan: Parcells HC/BB DC and then Parcells to become VP of OPs and BB to become HC. BB happily deposited the checks and then renegged on the deal. This is a big reason why you NEVER see Parcells praising BB - they both know the BS that BB pulled on the Hess family.
You're not listening....I'm not saying he wasn't a great DC...he was and is. The point is: he was considered a media-disaster and a bad/mediocre coach after Cleveland. Art Modell goes back to the 1950's with the NFL....he was bad-mouthing Belichick all over the place. The Bernie Kosar situation was also mishandled even though Belichick made the right decision. I'm not defending BB. He's a low-life and a scumbag. He betrayed Parcells and Hess. He talked to the Pats while under contract to the Jets. Kraft is a lying sleazebag. He justified the tampering with BB because he thought the Jets tampered with Parcells (they never did). He lost Parcells because he stripped him of power. And don't get me started on Kraft's whole "Hartford" BS which was nothing more than legalized extortion, sanctioned by Tagliabue. Disgraceful.
Actually, I spoke to John Hess, Leon's son about this. John wasn't much interested in the operations of the team but he was deeply distressed about what happened. Gutman no doubt spelled it out that Belichick betrayed the organization after the Jets/Parcells resuscitated Belichick's career.
I'm listening to you. You just aren't totally accurate in your recollection of how BB was perceived in 1999. Believe me, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I know all about BB in Cleveland - but he left there in '95. What I think you are missing in your analysis is that he then returned to Parcells as AHC in NE in '96 where he was great and went to the SB. Then Parcells infamously left NE for NY and took BB w/him as AHC/DC and he was the easily the highest paid DC in the NFL and in fact he made more than some HCs did - this was b/c Mr. Hess relying on Parcells had tapped BB to be the Jets next HC which he had agreed to. Certainly Art Modell correctly identified BB as a sleazeball who wasn't effective in Cleveland. But Hess and Kraft and others saw him as a football genius w/a personality disorder - which is what he is BTW.
Do you think the Jets hire BB as HC if Parcells didn't come along as a 1-year 'consultant' ??? No way.... Here's how well Belichick was perceived: the Boston media were against his hiring in 2000 and wanted him out after the season. And they saw him 1st-hand as DC with the Pats. I think if Belichick was as great as legend claims he is then he would have found a way to stop John Elway once or twice in the 2nd Half of the 1999 AFC CG.
Well than since you are less than a man you have nothing to worry about. Too bad for you they just can't lop off that extra chromosome.
WTF are you talking about? BP wasn't a "1yr consultant" He was the NYJ HC for 3 yrs and brought pretty much his entire staff w/him from NE in 1997 - the most important member of that group was his AHC/DC BB. BB was paid a HC salary by the NYJ even though he was AHC - B/C he was the HC in waiting and everybody knew that. which is why he is considered a sleazeball for taking the money and not living up to his agreement. Also a) you are wrong about what the entire boston media thought in 2000 and b) Nobody (especially bob kraft) gave a crap what the Boston media thought in 2000. Football people knew BB was brilliant when he was w/the giants (where he helped win 2 SB btw). He is an evil genius who lies & cheats and has a personality defect (which is why it took him so long to become a HC). 1 yr consultant? Get a clue.
The million dollars paid to BB was to keep him as DC in '99. The promise "to" Belichick (not from Belichick) was that he'd become the Jets HC when Parcells stepped down. It was a promise that was intended to benefit Belichick. It was intended to provide a guaranteed opportunity to become a HC again. Unfortunately, Parcells used it as a tool to "trap" Belichick instead. Parcells probably would have returned to coach in 2000 but when Kraft called him seeking permission to speak with Belichick, his response was to step down knowing that would keep Belichick from talking to Kraft. Belichick was angry b/c he felt he deserved better from Parcells. He resented the fact that Parcells was essentially blocking him from evaluating different options and making his own decision. It should also be noted that Parcells' own family sided with Belichick on this issue. His own (ex)wife and daughter stopped speaking to him for a long time. In fact, it might even have been one of the last straws that triggered his divorce. His wife's husband (Pioli) ultimately followed Belichick out the door as well. It was a self-serving BS move by Parcells. These guys had been colleagues/friends for a long time. That's not how you treat people close to you. It's unfortunate that BB came out of that looking like the bad guy instead of Parcells. I guess that just shows you how everything is really just a popularity contest. When you're loved you get every benefit of the doubt. When you're not, you don't.
In order to become HC of the Jets, Parcells had to force his way out of New England. The process started following the '96 season with Parcells being named as a "consultant" w/the Jets with BB getting the HC title. It was all a sham though as Parcells was really going to be the HC. The league stepped in and the Jets were ultimately forced to compensate the Patriots w/draft picks in order to hire him as their coach.
Belichick's Cleveland days are unjustifiably criticized. He had that team on the right track. First you need to remember that when BB took the Cleveland job, there was no free agency. Without free agency, you don't see quick turnarounds as the only way to build a roster was through the draft. Prior to BB getting there, Cleveland wasn't just bad they weren't even competitive. Last in the league in offense, last in the league in defense. One of the worst scoring differentials ever. In year 1, they doubled their win total but more importantly, they improved their point differential from -234 points to -5. In other words, they become remarkably competitive. 7 of their 10 losses were by a TD or less. In years 2 and 3, they were hit with multiple QB injuries and were forced to start their 3rd string QB. Jets fans should know how that can torpedo a season. Despite their QB woes, the team was competitive (back-to-back 7-9 seasons with + pt differential) thanks to a stingy defense. In year 4, they finally caught a break at QB and won 12 games (including playoffs). In year 5, many thought they were on the verge of a Super Bowl birth. They started out good. They were 3-1 following a blowout win over a Kansas City team that would go on to win 13 games. Then rumors started circling about the team moving out of Cleveland and the wheels just came completely off. I'm not sure its fair to blame Belichick for that. If Modell hadn't moved that team, it's possible that the Browns would have become a dynasty rivaling what the Patriots have achieved this century.
Most of what has been reported about this situation is largely incorrect. For example Parcells' divorce had nothing to do w/Bill bellicik's refusal to live up to his contractual comittment to Mr. Hess. Parcells didn't even get divorced until over 2 years after that all went down. Secondly when Parcells stepped down as HC it was to give BB the opportunity to be a HC for the Jets as BB had agreed to do and it was also b/c of personal issues. It wasn't to trap anybody and in fact the ludicrousness of that statement is obvious based on what actually happened: BB wasn't trapped at all - even though he was under contract to the Jets for 3 yrs, he resigned and went to the Pats who had to compensate the Jets. Obviously BB subjectively felt like he was being trapped by being named HC but all that really meant was that the Jets would be able to get something back in exchange for the rights to BB - and after all, the Jets were entitled to be compensated since BB had no problems in collecting 1.4M/per as the successor HC in waiting and then he walked out. Furthermore BB, Leon Hess, Steve Guttman and BB all knew a year before it happened that Parcells was going to have to step down as HC. The bottom line is that BB had a contract to be the HC. He knew a year in advance that Parcells was going to step down. When pete carroll sucked in NE, bob kraft asked to speak to BB and the Jets correctly refused because BB was about to become the HC. So BB just walked out b/c he felt manipulated even though he had been over compensated for years in order to secure his committment to take over the HC job when BP stepped down. It was a bullshit move by bellicek and to sit there are and argue that the Jets shouldn't have been compensated by bob kraft for essentially stealing their HC is ludicrous to put it mildly.
