You have to see it to understand, Read the thread there were others who saw it including Francessa. It Wasn't the same.
Italian Seafood, the Mo Lewis hit was just good fortune. The Pats' coaching staff had already decided that Brady was the best QB on their roster, but they couldn't just unseat their starting QB, especially after he signed that ridiculous $103 mil contract. Brady was going to be given the reins at some point in '01. Mo Lewis just expedited the decision. Mo Lewis is my all-time favorite Jets player. He should get a special place in the new Hall at Patriots Place (Pats HOF). You may have watched the BP and BB press conferences, but there is no argument. You're just plain wrong. BP was hovering over the franchise, like an evil spectre, threatening to destroy anything or anyone that didn't bend to his will. Argue all you like, you must've been hammered or something. Having to watch the green menace all these years must really be a drain on your soul... Getting Bill Parcells from the Pats in '97 directly resulted in the Patriots getting Belichick and Pioli. At the time I was irritated, but I didn't have the perspective on our little "Border War". Now I see that it's a gift that keeps on giving. I can only say "Thanks, guys!".
It did not surprise me at all when Kraft lured Belichick away from the jets. After all, we had done the same thing to them a few years earlier. Not only with their HC, Parcells, but their star player #28. I just thinks it was very sh#*y the way it all went down. The jets hold a press conference to announce Belichick as the next HC, and minutes before the press conference starts, he hands the president of the team a hand written note, "I resign as HC of the NYJ".
Believe what you want, I guess, I remember what happened very clearly so I there's no point in arguing it anymore. If your team had gone through a few weeks with no coach, GM or owner you would remember it too. I'm sure Kraft did hire Bellichick because we had taken Parcells, but by the end of 1999 he was the hot assistant and was going to get a job somewhere. The uncertain state of the Jets ownership and the thought that Parcells might not quit probably prompted him to make a deal with the Pats, but it wasn't because Parcells was going to stay and be his boss because that wasn't the deal. Otherwise it wouldn't have been as big a problem for us. At the time, Bellichick was regarded as a great DC but questionable head coach--something that stuck with him during his 5-13 pre-Brady start in New England. If Parcells were still in place above him we would have just named Groh coach right away, but as it went weeks of turmoil followed as they had to convince Parcells to stick around and oversee things.
although I dislike Belichick for showing what a scum bag he always was , I do not blame him for running out the back door. Parcells grew tired of coaching . Parcells knew he had mortgage the immediate future to try and win now.Belichick didn't want to inherit a capped out team and especially one in a downward flux. In New England he got the keys to the car , rather then a requisition form for the experiment the Jets were for two years there. In terms of belly being able to say what ever he wants.....He's got three rings ! How can anyone say anything? If you believe in Karma , well then last year was his pay back for being a royal d#$@.
I don't think he's crying, there is no crying in Belichek's world but I do think he's constantly scheming in that little ratbrain of his that it will never happen again.
Belichick had wanted that HC job for a number of years, but Parcells wouldn't step aside. Then, when the Pats voiced interest, suddenly Big Bill steps aside to prevent the Pats from signing him. I don't think Belichick liked that move. I think he felt Parcells put his personal grudge with Kraft over Belichick's career. Bill would have had to take over the Jets under new ownership and with Parcell's in the front office trying to pull on the strings. Not to mention the state of the team given Parcell's strategy of mortgaging the future for an immediate shot at a championship. BB just wanted to get out of Parcell's shadow once and for all. I'm sure there are a million articles about what happened. This one is pretty informative: http //archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/features_1999/belichick_012100.asp I've seen at least one article that claims Parcells told the owners that he intended to resign on Sunday BEFORE the fax from the Patriots. I personally doubt that very much. There is no proof of it and it is probably a story they made up when that Fax came in.
A lot of this is people believing different things or what they want to believe, but think it through for a minute. Ever since Parcells left the Giants, part of the deal with him has always been you never know if he's staying or going from one year to the next. He took us from a 1-15 laughingstock to an elite team in two years, Vinny's injury set us back in 1999 but by the end of the season the Jets were still a very good team. So no Jet fan, or anyone around the team, wanted him to leave if he didn't want to. Bellichick was a great DC, but Parcells had also rebuilt the Pats without him, so the only person who might have wanted Parcells to leave was Bellichick. If Parcells only stepped down to stick it to Bellichick, he would have gone right back to coaching when Bellichick left, but he didn't. He wanted to be totally out of football, the Jets had to talk him into staying on to help Groh run the team after Bellichick left. So had Belichick stayed, he'd have had the same role he has in New England. Parcells knows the business well enough to know that if Bellichick wanted to go he would and he could, regardless of what Parcells decided to do. I don't doubt that Bellichick wanted to get away from Parcells' shadow, but again, the Pats or anyone else could have hired him the year before or the year before that if they wanted to. They hired him based on his standing as a coach at that moment in time, which had been restored by his tenure with the Jets. Keep in mind he had only spent one year in New England when Parcells was there and that was not as a coordinator, Parcells hired him on after Cleveland canned him. Kraft didn't hire him because of an old grudge from 1997, he hired him because he was the #1 hire at the time, he didn't have to wait because the Jets weren't in the playoffs, and whatever Parcells did, taking Bellichick would weaken the Jets. The same thinking as when the Jets hired Mangini away from the Patriots.
