Bill Belichick reached out to the New York Jets regarding their vacant head coaching position prior to his appointment as the football coach at North Carolina, according to a source close to the matter.

On Thursday, the 72-year-old Belichick was presented as the new head coach for the Tar Heels. However, he had made inquiries with the Jets, who had recently parted ways with coach Robert Saleh on October 8, subsequently promoting defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to an interim coaching role.

According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the lack of formal statements from either party, there were no substantive meetings or discussions between Belichick and the Jets. The Athletic was the first to report the initiative between Belichick and the Jets, with the New York Post noting that the Hall of Fame coach made direct contact himself, which is particularly unexpected given his historically tumultuous relationship with the organization.

In recent television appearances, Belichick had been openly critical of the Jets and their owner, Woody Johnson, especially in light of the team’s disappointing record of 3-10 this season. The franchise is on track to miss the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, an NFL record for the longest active playoff drought. Furthermore, the Jets are in the midst of seeking a new general manager following Johnson’s dismissal of Joe Douglas on November 19.

Belichick previously served as an assistant coach under Bill Parcells with the Jets from 1997 to 1999 and was set to take over the head coaching role when Parcells left. However, he resigned just one day later to accept the same position in New England. A trade was later arranged, and Belichick went on to capture six Super Bowl championships with the Patriots, led by quarterback Tom Brady.

In 2007, the Jets’ then-coach Eric Mangini, who had been an assistant under Belichick, played a key role in sparking the infamous Spygate controversy. This incident resulted in fines for Belichick and the Patriots due to illegal videotaping of the Jets’ coaching signals during a game.

After wrapping up his tenure with the Patriots at the end of last season, which is considered one of the most successful in NFL history, Belichick decided to step away from the team. His 333 wins in both regular season and playoffs place him second all-time, only trailing Don Shula’s 347 victories. Belichick also holds the record for the most playoff wins at 31.

Last offseason, he interviewed for the head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons but did not hold a coaching role this current season.