Huh?

The reality of Bill Belichick’s college foray

The sentence frankly reads as absurd at first glance: Bill Belichick is in serious talks to become the next coach at North Carolina. The six-time Super Bowl champ who is 14 wins shy of the NFL record ... wants to spend his career twilight at an above-average ACC program?

It’s a mind-boggling proposition that everyone involved seems to be taking quite seriously. And it turns out, this is not without precedent. But let’s go over the basic facts before we delve deeper:

Weeks ago, North Carolina fired Mack Brown, the program’s all-time winningest coach, amid a messy season. Tar Heels officials figured the opening would be highly coveted; instead, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell declined interest. So here we are, talking about Bill Belichick.

Internal strife abounds in Chapel Hill, as Brendan Marks and Ralph D. Russo laid out in incredible detail Monday. The athletic department and the board of trustees are at odds, which is making the hiring process difficult. In the story, there’s even mention of a possible job offer coming from a trustee — not the athletic department — to Belichick.

Yeesh.

And yet, as Brendan, Ralph and Dianna Russini reported last night, Belichick is indeed weighing an offer to become the next Tar Heels head coach. As we wrote last week, Belichick spent time at Washington last season with his son Steve, the Huskies’ defensive coordinator. There is an expectation Steve would follow his father to Chapel Hill and possibly even be named coach-in-waiting.

But I still have this nagging question rattling my brain: Is this a good idea for anyone?

I went to the insiders. Dianna told me Belichick would lean on his NFL expertise to attract recruits and — I admit, I am beginning to see the reasoning — Belichick knows how to run an NFL operation. As the college game creeps toward an NFL structure with NIL money and revenue sharing, maybe the 72-year-old would be ahead of his peers.

But there is skepticism, as The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman told me. It wouldn’t be a disaster, per se, but … here’s Bruce:

💬 “I don't see ‘home run.’ Talent acquisition is so pivotal, and my sense is UNC will not have that robust of an NIL operation. It's one thing to pitch that you can get guys ready for the NFL, but these days, most of the kids are still going to ask, ‘So how much am I getting?’ And if it's a lot less than what Miami, Clemson, Ohio State and the SEC is offering, I think Belichick isn't going to be able to get the kinds of players to win more than eight or nine games.”

Bruce also reminded me that Bill Walsh, winner of three Super Bowls with the 49ers, went back to college and coached Stanford for three seasons. Final record in that stint: 17-17-1. Walsh was also a second-time college head coach and younger than Belichick is now, plus never had to encounter the phrase “NIL.”

Our Mike Sando says Belichick coaching in the college ranks is more realistic than you might think. I still won’t believe it until he has an introductory news conference. Stay tuned.

Chris Branch at the Atlantic wrote"I think the 24 year old girlfriend is making him think he is younger than he is...not that I begrudge him the relationship.

But it takes a tremendous amount of energy to coach a college team, and I just don't think it is likely that a 74 year old guy, who has not recently exhibited a high energy level, can do it.

Originally Posted by: Martha Careful 

I think Belichick to college is mostly a bluff to get the NFL teams attention but also a backup plan should NFL teams seriously be not interested.

I believe Bill's #1 goal is to get back to the NFL and prove he can still coach at a high level, and get the record for most wins by an NFL head coach. Also to maybe prove that he can do it without Brady.

But supposedly an alternative plan is to set his son Steven up with a potential head coaching gig, which is not likely to happen though NFL as owners don't often just hire family to head coaching res like that, but sometimes College does.

Sort of like the Brohm family and Louisville. Father and all his sons played for Louisville, now two of the boys are main coaches for the team. Including former Packers Brian Brohm as offensive coordinator.

Originally Posted by: beast 

It would be hysterical if Bellacheat ended up with the bares. His gf was Williams old flame. Awkward.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

I do think sometimes people take interviews just get their name in the mix. Kind of a "hey I'm still interested" kind of thing. Although, I would think their agent would be doing that calling around to teams thing.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

The sticking points include, via ESPN.com, Belichick’s salary, resources for the staff, reporting structure, the potential role for Stephen Belichick, Bill’s son, and North Carolina’s NIL resources.

There have been reports that Belichick hopes to create a succession plan that would involve Stephen taking over for Bill, at some point. Since he’ll be 73 in April, it’s unclear how long Bill Belichick would keep the job.

Well do we know Bill has an agent?

Originally Posted by: beast 

Sources: Belichick, UNC work on issues before potential hire

Dec 11, 2024, 02:29 PM ET

North Carolina is working to close a deal with Bill Belichick to make the six-time Super Bowl champion the Tar Heels' coach, but sources told ESPN there are still issues that both sides need to work through.

Sources added that the "ball is in Belichick's court" and that North Carolina officials are on board with him becoming the coach. A resolution is expected in the near future, sources said.

Among the issues are the potential role for his son and current Washington defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick; North Carolina's name, image and likeness resources; Belichick's salary, and resources for the staff and reporting structure.

Talks between North Carolina and Belichick have been ongoing since at least last week, sources said. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Belichick met with North Carolina officials for five hours Sunday.

Belichick was typically coy about the situation in an interview on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday afternoon. He confirmed to McAfee that he had a "couple of good conversations" with North Carolina chancellor Lee Roberts and said, "We'll see how that goes." He concluded the interview by saying about the UNC job: "We'll see. We'll see."

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Belichick on Tar Heels coaching job: 'We'll see'

Sources: Belichick speaks with UNC about opening
The hiring of Belichick, 72, would resonate as one of the most stunning and compelling moves in college football history. He worked in the NFL in some capacity from 1975 until his divorce from the New England Patriots after the 2023 season.

The NCAA transfer portal opened Monday, which leaves the Tar Heels' roster potentially in flux. Belichick spoke in hypotheticals about what his college program could look like with McAfee, stressing "if" he took a college job. He observed that modern college football looks a lot more like the NFL.

"If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL," Belichick said. "It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, scheme, coaching and techniques that would transfer to the NFL."

He concluded a lengthy portrait of what the program would look like by saying: "It would be an NFL program, but not at the NFL level."

Belichick has never coached at the college level but grew up on college campuses, including his father spending three years as a North Carolina assistant coach. Sources told ESPN that Belichick's interest in the job has always been sincere and that he has strong desire to return to the sideline.

He has been calling potential staff members for days, and representatives from UNC's collective have hypothetically discussed players' potential interest in anticipation of Belichick taking the job. Belichick's exploration has included a dive on nearly every aspect of college coaching and how it would look.

Other names that have emerged in North Carolina's search include veteran NFL coach Steve Wilks, Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, Army coach Jeff Monken, Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and Cleveland Browns tight ends coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Smith indicated he would stay with the Steelers, and Tulane reached an agreement in principle with Sumrall for a contract extension.

The UNC search has been scattered, sources said, with uncertainty in the industry about who is running it. Board of trustees chair John P. Preyer has been a key Belichick advocate throughout the process and has galvanized a group at the school behind Belichick's potential hire.