Bill Belichick: Resigning from Jets Job 'One of the Great Moments of My Career'

As head coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick has won six Super Bowl championships. But the career move he made before landing in New England—leaving the New York Jets, where he served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1997-99—was pivotal for him.

Appearing on WEEI's Ordway, Merloni & Fauria, Belichick said resigning from the Jets was "one of the great moments" of his career (h/t Ryan Hannable):

"Well, not only one of the most defining, but you know, one of the great moments of my career. That combined with Robert [Kraft] giving me the opportunity to come here, I couldn't have asked for anything more. That wasn't a good situation for me and I didn't want to be part of it, so I wasn't. The other half of that was Robert giving me the opportunity to come here and trading, he gave up quite a bit to get me to come here, and that was a big trade. I am 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 and I'll keep trying to do my best for this team and this organization — give them the very best that can and I very thankful for the opportunity to come here. I just wasn't going to stay there in that situation."

In 2000, the Patriots fired now-Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and wanted to replace him with Belichick, who was in the midst of a six-year contract as an assistant coach on the Jets—under former Patriots coach Bill Parcells, who had coached with Belichick in New England in 1996.

When he signed his contract to follow Parcells to New York, the document included a stipulation that he would assume Parcells' job when he left the team, which he did on Jan. 3, 2000. But during a press conference scheduled to introduce Belichick as the head coach the next day, Belichick resigned. Patriots owner Robert Kraft traded a first-round pick in the 2000 NFL draft and fourth- and seventh-round selections in 2001 in exchange for Belichick and a pair of late-round selections in the 2000 and 2001 drafts. 

Though his first season in New England had little markings of what was to come, with the team finishing 5-11, Belichick would go on to coach in nine Super Bowls, boasting a 240-88 record through nearly 21 seasons with the team.