Bill Belichick Watch List: Jets Not Only Team in Need of Coaching Upgrade

The New York Jets made the unexpected but understandable move of canning coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday. Team owner Woody Johnson is convinced this is one of his most talented teams in 25 years, and he isn’t going to sit on his hands and watch it underperform.

That’s all well and good, but most football fans were already thinking about 2025, and predictably, the memes flowed.

Bill Belichick is only 72, after all, and wants to coach again next year. The six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots would be an immediate upgrade for many franchises, and though the Atlanta Falcons may have turned him down this past cycle, few other teams would be able to do the same.

There are several potential landing spots for Belichick that we can examine, starting with his old nemeses, Gang Green:

New York Jets

Those under 30 may not remember, but Belichick has served as head coach of the Jets before. His undefeated tenure lasted an entire day before he resigned to take the same job with the Patriots in January 2000. I won’t obscure the fact that I’m a Jets fan, as I wrote Monday, and I admit Belichick coaching this team somehow would not feel as traitorous as the idea of a 47-year-old Tom Brady signing up to play quarterback. But might the hardheaded Aaron Rodgers clash with Bill? Moreover, it’s evident Belichick despises the Jets as much as they despised him for years, as he sneaks in shots at the Pats’ weakling brothers anytime he can.

Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s hardly the most prestigious franchise to land with, but old men like Florida, and Brady showed the way by finishing his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belichick would have a young franchise quarterback to try to mold in Trevor Lawrence, and if that doesn’t work out, he gets to start over with Mac Jones. The Jags started 0-4 before winning their first game on Sunday and have been major underperformers since reaching the 2022 AFC Divisional Round.

Cincinnati Bengals

Speaking of disappointing teams, the Bengals have been thoroughly mediocre since losing the Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season before falling in the AFC Championship Game a year later. They have always started slow under Zac Taylor, and after one of his worst starts yet (1-4 and counting), his seat could start getting hot. They’re not going to change the quarterback, after all. Working with Joe Burrow, who’s often compared to Brady, could be attractive to Belichick. But owner Mike Brown has a reputation for being cheap and may not want to pay Belichick top dollar.

Philadelphia Eagles

Another team that’s come so close to a Lombardi Trophy it could smell it, only to regress ever since. Fans are getting impatient with Nick Sirianni and his staff, and ownership there already made the cold-blooded move of firing Doug Pederson three years after he delivered the franchise’s first Super Bowl win. If Philadelphia decided Sirianni was out of time, Belichick might make more sense here than any team on this list -- a short-term project to get a talented team over the hump before its window of contention closes.

Dallas Cowboys

If we’re starting this discussion with the Jets, we’re finishing it with the Cowboys, the only team that acts more like a three-ring circus at any given point in a football season. At least Belichick is so respected that he might be the one man on earth Jerry Jones would defer to on matters of team-building.