Bill Belichick may be preparing for Sunday’s game against the Browns, but the Jets are never far from his mind.
During the Patriots coach’s Wednesday press conference, Belichick was asked about his five-year (1991-95) coaching tenure in Cleveland. Belichick reminisced about his first head-coaching position and how well it has served him in his time with New England, before taking an unprompted shot at the Jets.
“I was there for five years,” Belichick said, according to Boston Herald. “It was five important years in my life, for myself, my family and all that. Obviously, we’ve all moved on and I have a job to do here and that’s where my loyalty is, is to Robert [Kraft] and the Patriots organization and this football team. So it’s not different than how I feel honestly about the Colts or the Lions or the Broncos [other coaching stops].
“I feel differently about the Jets. We won’t put them in that category.
“It’s a good experience with all of those teams and we learned from them and grew as a coach and as a person and as a family. But we’re at a different time and a different place. This is where we are now, so I’ll try to make the most out of this one.”
Belichick spent three seasons (1997-99) with the Jets as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, before replacing Bill Parcells as head coach then infamously stepping down as “HC of the NYJ” after only one day on the job and leaving for New England.