On Jan. 27, 2000, the course of the New England Patriots franchise changed forever when the team officially hired Bill Belichick as their head coach.

The process to do so wasn’t so simple. Belichick was supposed to take over as head coach of the New York Jets after the departure of Bill Parcells. But then, Belichick famously resigned via a napkin, went through a bizarre departure press conference and was caught in a coaching tug-of-war between two AFC rivals.

Ultimately, Robert Kraft traded a first-round pick and more to the Jets to get ahold of the coach, a move that proved to be one of the greatest bargains in NFL history. With the Patriots, Belichick has accomplished the following:

6 Super Bowl titles

9 Super Bowl appearances

30 playoff wins

17 AFC East titles

17 straight seasons with double-digit wins

19 straight winning seasons

3-time NFL head coach of the year

But not everyone was on board with the move at the time. Here’s a look at some of the reaction to the Belichick hiring 20 years ago, starting with the most famous swing-and-miss from the time.

Ian O’Connor: “Patriots will regret hiring Belichick”

Go @Ian_OConnor! This has surpassed Bayless' "Manziel will be bigger than Lebron" tweet as most follower suggested Cold Take in FCT history! pic.twitter.com/UGo3Qyx50i — Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) January 6, 2017

This is the most famous column to come out from the Belichick hiring. A nationally syndicated columnist at the time, O’Connor now works for ESPN and actually went to write a book titled “Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All-Time.”

Still, O’Connor has acknowledged that this column was a complete whiff.

“I’ve pieced together thousands of columns over 30 years, and in terms of expressed opinion/prediction versus ultimate outcome, that’s probably the worst one I’ve ever written," O’Connor said to Boston.com in 2017. It was my version of Pete Carroll throwing the ball at the goal line.”

Garry Brown, The Springfield Union News (now the Springfield Republican)

"Kraft already has two major mistakes regarding coaches: letting Parcells get away; and believing Pete Carroll could handle the heavy load of replacing him. Now, if he doesn’t watch it, Kraft could be headed for yet another blunder. That would be the hiring of Bill Belichick as his new head coach.

"Kraft would be better off to concentrate on a proven winner, like former Kansas City coach Marty Schottenheimer. For the right price, Schottenheimer could be convinced that coaching football, rather than talking about it on TV, is what he should be doing with his life.

“Instead, Kraft seems intent on pursuing Belichick, a loser and public relations disaster in his first go-round as a head coach (Cleveland, 1991-95). Belichick appears to be a Carroll type - well suited to be an assistant coach, ill suited to be the head man.”

New York Times: “PRO FOOTBALL; Patriots Hire Belichick, and Everyone’s Happy”

“With Bill Parcells in the unfamiliar role of peacemaker, the Jets and the New England Patriots each got what they wanted yesterday. The Patriots hired Bill Belichick as their head coach and the Jets received the Patriots’ first-round pick for the 2000 draft in exchange for releasing the former Jets’ coach-for-a-day from his contract.”

Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss): “It’s all so crazy, it just might work”

“Belichick’s behavior in recent weeks indicates he might be enough of a wacko to be an effective head coach.”

Adrian Wojnarowski, The Record (now of ESPN): “Belichick actually did Jets a favor”

“The Jets have Super Bowl talent to lure a legitimate coach. Will the choice be as good as Bill Parcells? Of course not. But in the end, Belichick did the Jets a favor, reintroducing himself as the clod coach who turned into the most despised man in Cleveland until Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore. better they found out now than Gutman traipsing back to the podium with the same bewildered expression to announce Belichick’s dismissal in two years.”

Bob Lobel, WBZ (via Boston.com)

“The players really wanted him and he was promised the job, which is one reason he left the Jets. I like the choice. Neighbors on Nantucket tell me Belichick is a really nice guy who keeps to himself. … If the players wanted him, he’s worth (the draft pick).”

Karen Guregian, The Boston Herald: “Pats Get Their Man: Bill Just Not The Ticket” (via The Comeback)

"Football coaches worth surrendering first-round draft picks for: Vince Lombardi. George Halas. Paul Brown. Bill Parcells. Joe Gibbs. Don Shula. Chuck Noll. Tom Landry, Bill Walsh.

Sorry folks. Bill Belichick does not fit the mold. He is not in that coaching stratosphere. Not in my book, anyway. He’s not worth the tariff the Patriots surrendered to Parcells and the Jets yesterday. He’s not someone for whom I’d hand over that kind of ransom, especially when that ransom is going to one of my chief AFC East rivals."

The Providence Journal (via The Comeback)

"Why is it that the Patriots always seem to be a step behind, rather than a step ahead?

“… The Patriots do know what they’re getting in Belichick – a man who had four losing seasons in his five years as coach of the Browns from 1991-95.”

Butch Stearns, Fox 25 (via Boston.com)

“I still think Tom Donahoe is the key. The Patriots need a football guy to run the team. That’s what’s been missing. We know Belichick is a good coach, but is he a leader? Coaches come and go, but you need someone to run the organization.”