Per a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the legendary NFL coach’s inner circle had informal conversations with the New York Jets before he accepted the head coaching job at North Carolina. The Jets have moved forward with Jeff Ulbrich as their interim head coach after firing Robert Saleh during the season. Russini wrote:

Despite what some analysts may think, the Jets can offer something to their new regime other organizations can't.

After displaying a well-known hatred towards the Jets over the years—and also going 39–13 against them during his NFL career—Bill Belichick recently called New York about its vacant head coaching job. According to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, Belichick himself called the team "to gauge interest" and was told they were just starting their search.