Begun, the Belichick-to-the-Giants Speculation Has

It was only a matter of time. And that time turned out to be all of about 15 seconds.

Even in the very best of times for Bill Belichick's time in New England, the idea that he somehow harbored a deep and abiding love to go back to New York and somehow recapture the glory of his youth by taking the Giants job never went away. Every time there was some controversy in Foxboro, some rumored tension between him and the Krafts, some personnel move he was reportedly not on board with but supposedly "forced" to make like trading Jimmy Garoppolo, the talk around the region was that he was going to tunnel out of the Shawshank on Rte 1 and escape to the tropical paradise of the Zihuantenjo on the Jersey Turnpike. There, he'd be a free man. Happily living out his days doing whatever the fook he wanted. Fixing up that broken boat  they call the NY Football Giants. The only question was whether the water off the Jersey Shore would be as blue as it was in his dreams. 

That conjecture only ramped up every time the Giants fired a coach. Which, not counting interims, was four times since Tom Coughlin retired in 2015. And now that the job is open once again, that talk is back. With a vengeance:

Big Blue Review -  Could Belichick, though, actually return to the NFL to become head coach of the Giants?

“I think Belichick would do it in a second,” long-time NFL columnist Gary Myers said on Wednesday’s ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast.

Myers, a former columnist for the Dallas Morning News and New York Daily News, has also authored seven books. His latest is ‘Brady vs. Belichick.’ Myers knows Belichick and Giants co-owner John Mara as well as anyone. …

“I know that’s (the record for victories) important to him, although he’ll never admit that,” Myers said. “I also know it’s important to him to win a Super Bowl without (Tom) Brady. I think it’s something Belichick very much wants to do.” …

“He (Belichick) loves the Giants,” Myers said. “I mean he LOVES the Giants. He gets emotional and melancholy reminiscing about his Giant years. Although that was a long time ago, the Giants have stolen his heart."

Here's an even more tellling quote from Myers:

"He'd walk from Chapel Hill to East Rutherford for this job, I really believe that."

I picture him and Jordon Hudson loading their furniture and all her outfits into a U-Haul and taking 95 North with maybe a stop in DC on the way. But I appreciate the hyperbole as much as the next guy. Belichick has really always wanted to coach this particular franchise over all others. Got it.

It's just that I never bought into this hypothesis. Never understood the appeal. What irresistible attraction that job had for him over any other. Was it nostalgia, because he was the DC there for a few years? Why the Giants and not his other past jobs like the Colts, Lions, Broncos, Jets or Browns? And since when was it assumed this cold, calculating, diabolical genius was really a sentimental fool, pining for the old days? Because he wanted to be closer to Bon Jovi? JBJ spent more time on the Patriots practice field than he did East Rutherford. 

Besides, he had everything he needed at One Patriots Place. Ownership that may or may not have gotten frustrated at times, with all the bad drafts, weird decisions (Malcolm Butler, Matt Patricia as OC) and how Bill's relationships with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were coming apart. But they still gave him carte blanche to run the organization as he saw fit. His sons were fully welcomed on the coaching staff. And he was paid more than anyone in the profession. So I dismissed all the talk and sheer speculation, bordering on nonsense.

That was then. This is now. And if he could get the Giants job, I have no doubt he'd be calling the movers right now. 

But here's the ironic part. For once, the Giants job is attractive, as Reags mentioned:

But now it's Bill who isn't so much. Particularly in East Rutherford, since they just fired their second coach off the Belichick tree in four years. Sure, Brian Daboll was an upgrade over Joe Judge, he even won them a playoff game. But since then, they're 11-34. It's hard to imagine that now that two consecutive branches off that tree rotted and died in a just a few years, you'd want to transplant the whole tree into your yard. 

Not to mention, the other assorted complications Mara would have to contend with. Whether you'd want a gruff, demanding, septuagenarian with very Old School ways who thought nothing of ripping the greatest player in history to be the voice inside this quarterback's head:

Then there's the question of how much control over personnel moves Belichick would insist on. Plus other, more public relations-oriented challenges this hiring would bring. 

All that said, I'd love to see it. As much as the Giants have stolen two very big pieces of my soul that I'll never get back and I love to see them fail, this would be amazing for everyone. It would be a great story. It would give him back his shot to break Don Shula's record while the old hate-filled SOB is still alive to see it. And it will make the next Patriots-Giants matchup (the next time the AFC East and NFC East play each other is 2028) one of the landmark regular season games in NFL history. 

Do the right thing, Mara. Make this happen.