
Before Bill Belichick won any of his seven Super Bowl rings (two as Giants defensive coordinator, five as Patriots head coach), he nearly joined the Vikings as an assistant coach under Les Steckel in 1984.
Come again?
Belichick, during Thursday night's premiere of the latest ESPN 30 for 30 installment "The Two Bills" chronicling his relationship with Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, recalled when he verbally accepted a defensive backs coach job in Minnesota before the 1984 season.
Belichick was the Giants linebackers coach and special teams coordinator under Parcells, then a first-year head coach in 1983. That season went poorly with the Giants finishing 3-12-1, so Belichick faced "one of the real crossroads in my career," he told the ESPN broadcast.
"That was a tough year for the Giants, for Bill [Parcells]," Belichick said. "And when the year was over, Les Steckel had become the head coach at Minnesota and Floyd Reese was also there. So I knew Floyd from when we coached together with the Lions. He called me and said would you be interested in coming up here and working for the Vikings?
"I talked to Bill and he said, you know what, we're on shaky ground here. You know, if you want to go ahead — do what you gotta do."
So Belichick, who on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium will coach to tie Curly Lambeau and George Halas for his sixth NFL title as head coach, told Steckel he would join the Vikings for the 1984 season as a defensive assistant.
"I went up there and it was good," Belichick said. "I loved Floyd and Les and all that and I really appreciated Bill giving me that opportunity."