Jerry Jones Says Bill Belichick Made Play for Cowboys Head Coaching Job After He Was Fired by Browns

Two of the NFL's most idolized and despised franchises could have gone in completely different directions had a 1996 meeting gone differently.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick once tried to talk his way into Dallas' head coaching job.

In the winter of 1996, just a few weeks after Dallas' fifth Super Bowl title and Belichick getting fired by the Cleveland Browns, the two ran into each other at a ski resort. Jones says in an interview on 105.3 The Fan that Belichick told him, "I can coach. If you ever get an opportunity, don't forget about me."

Belichick says he doesn't remember the interaction "the way Jerry described it," but also said Jones' memory might be better than his.

The Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 and the Cowboys parted ways with Barry Switzer less than two years later. But most importantly, the Patriots have since won six Super Bowls to the Cowboys' zero.

This encounter begs so many "what ifs." It makes you wonder how many titles the Cowboys would've won; where the Patriots would be at this point; what kind of player Tom Brady would've been; and many other potential scenarios.

One quick decision by Jones probably would have changed the landscape of the National Football League for the next 20-plus years, but instead Jason Garrett has somehow remained the Cowboys head coach for nearly a decade.