After the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, five games into his fourth season, Jets fans were quick to pounce on the top available candidate to revive their 2-3 team. (Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was named interim coach but that will mean little if a top available coach such as Belichick is interested.)

Last year, A to Z Sports writer Wendell Ferreira put out a list of the top 25 head coaching candidates for teams that will eventually be looking to replace their own. And as if by serendipity, Wendell released a new list for this season this week as the Jets fired their head coach,

The year was 2000. On January 4, Belichick was all set to be introduced to the New York media as the newest head coach of the Jets, which was doubly wild because the Jets traded a first-rounder to the New England Patriots for his services.