What does Bill Belichick consider one of the great moments of his career?

Resigning from the New York Jets is considered by Bill Belichick a great moment in his career.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has eight Super Bowl rings, two as an assistant with the New York Giants, and six as coach of New England. So, what would he surprisingly consider one of the defining moments of his legendary career?

How about walking away from the job as head coach of the New York Jets by writing his resignation on a piece of paper? On Jan. 4, 2000, moments before he was to be formally introduced as the Jets’ coach, he scribbled on a sheet of loose-leaf paper that he was resigning as the “HC of the NYJ.” He handed it to team officials and conducted a 50-minute news conference.

“Well, not only one of the most defining, but you know, one of the great moments of my career,” Belichick said Tuesday on WEEI. “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.”

Belichick was going to take over from Bill Parcells after the 1999 season but chose to exit. The Patriots acquired his services at the price of some draft picks.

The letter below outlines the five draft picks that were involved in the exchange, with the Jets receiving the Patriots’ 16th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, along with a fourth and seventh in 2001. In return, the Patriots got Belichick, a fifth-round pick in 2001, and a seventh-round pick in 2002.

If you were wondering how the picks turned out, click here.