Because New England played the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football,” the ESPN broadcast showed a clip of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick famously resigning as “HC of the NYJ” during a press conference in January 2000.
Belichick was asked in his weekly interview with “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria” on WEEI about ESPN showing that clip. Belichick was more than willing to talk about it and roasted the Jets in the process.
“One of the, not only most defining but one of the great moments of my career,” Belichick said.
(Apparently it’s right up there with those eight Super Bowl titles.)
“That combined with Robert (Kraft) giving me the opportunity to come here, I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Belichick continued. “That wasn’t a good situation for me and I didn’t want to be part of it, so I wasn’t.”
“But the other half of that was Robert giving me the opportunity to come here and trading — I mean, he gave up quite a bit for me to come here. That was a big trade. So I’m very thankful that it worked out. I appreciate all the support from Robert, the Kraft Family, the Patriots organization, and all the New England fans. I’ll keep trying to do my best for this team and this organization. Give them the very best that I can. But I’m very thankful for the opportunity to come here and I just wasn’t going to stay there in that situation. So it worked out.”
That quote might sting more than the Patriots’ fourth-quarter comeback win over the Jets on Monday night.
