I was a fan of Bill coming back, but the media didn’t feel the same way. Also, I think the 1st round pick for BB was excessive and Bob caved in to a bitter Parcells’ demands which is why his expectations were now high.
After the 2000 season, I didn’t like the direction of the team and the media agreed. Then you have the controversy of the Seymour pick when the theme all offseason was to get Bledsoe help. The beginning of the season looked like a continuation of the last. Had Seymour been a dud and they missed the playoffs while sending their best offensive player home (Glenn), Bill absolutely would've been fired.
In addition, the “it better work” comment by Bob regarding Bledsoe vs Brady confirmed that he was allowing Bill to potentially crashing and burning and putting his job on the line.