North Carolina stunned the college football world by replacing Mack Brown with six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick. With no prior collegiate coaching experience, can the NFL’s greatest tactician reinvent himself — or the program — to lead the Tar Heels to success?
What Can North Carolina Fans Expect With Bill Belichick as Head Coach?
Brown’s ousting was controversial, at least in the way it occurred. But it doesn’t matter now, with Belichick making himself comfortable in Chapel Hill.
Typically, when a program or franchise fires a head coach, their next hire shares few similarities. Case in point: UNC reportedly vetted Tulane Green Wave HC Jon Sumrall (who just agreed to a contract extension), Liberty Flames HC Jamey Chadwell, and Iowa State Cyclones HC Matt Campbell.
Yet, outside of their proximity in age, the same stands true for Brown and Belichick.
Belichick has never coached in the collegiate ranks, although he was raised around it. His father, Steve, spent 40 years of his life with the Vanderbilt Commoders (1949-52), North Carolina (1953-55), and the Navy Midshipmen (1956-89).
Though Belichick’s résumé is rooted in NFL dominance, his ties to college football run deep. His father, Steve Belichick, spent over four decades coaching at the collegiate level, including a stint with UNC in the 1950s.
Now, the younger Belichick faces the challenge of carving his own legacy in Chapel Hill, where expectations are high and patience is scarce.
After mutually parting ways with the Patriots in 2024, Belichick officially agreed to appear on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show every Monday afternoon during the 2024 NFL season. Then, during the Netflix special The Roast of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning revealed Belichick would join the Manningcast, an alternate live television broadcast of Monday Night Football.
However, it’s not as if Belichick wanted to go the media route already. The 72-year-old is just 15 wins away from passing Don Shula on the league’s all-time wins list and interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ job last offseason before they filled the role with Raheem Morris.
Belichick received offers to become the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams but turned them down.
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With the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Chicago Bears already having head coaching vacancies this year and the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars potentially joining them come “Black Monday,” it appeared as if Belichick would at least have one more shot at an NFL head coach role.
He was even linked to the Dallas Cowboys, but owner Jerry Jones repeatedly backed current leader Mike McCarthy, even hinting that he could earn a contract extension soon.
So, instead of waiting around, Belichick has seemingly thrown in the white flag on passing Shula’s record and will take an all-new route. But can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Inside Carolina was the first to report that Belichick interviewed with the Tar Heels for the program’s opening, and several other outlets later confirmed the news. On The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, Dec. 9, Belichick shared that he met with UNC chancellor Lee H. Roberts for five hours the day before.
The Tar Heels apparently prioritized experience over upside, and no other coach has a résumé even close to Belichick’s.
Belichick’s NFL pedigree is unmatched, but adapting to the fast-evolving college football landscape will test even his legendary preparation. With the rise of the transfer portal and NIL deals, the line between college and pro football has blurred — a dynamic that could play directly into Belichick’s hands as he molds UNC into a pseudo-NFL program.
In fact, he said as much on The Pat McAfee Show, mentioning he spoke with several current collegiate coaches about the evolution of the sport:
“I’ll just say this. I think there are a lot of football programs being structured similar to NFL programs. … It seems like college football is more like pro football.”
Recruiting could be the largest change, but a strong supporting staff could alleviate much of the stress.
But it seems as though Belichick isn’t going to make every decision with his NFL knowledge in the forefront, which isn’t all that surprising. That’s where he spent the majority of his life, and his inability to adapt ultimately ended in his departure from New England.
“Let me put this in capital letters, if, I-F, 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 on The Pat McAfee Show on Dec. 9. “It would be a professional program — training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques, that would transfer to the NFL.
“It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for after football. It would be geared toward developing the player, discipline, time management, structure, and all that, life skills, regardless of whether you’re in the NFL or somewhere in business.
“I feel very confident that I have the contacts in the National Football League to pave the way for those players to have the opportunity to compete in the National Football League. They would be ready for it, I don’t have any doubt about that. It would be an NFL program, but not at the NFL level.”
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Belichick’s military-esque coaching style may actually be easier to implement at the collegiate level, where young men at the beginning of their careers are more willing to head to management, unlike multi-millionaire 30-year-olds in the NFL.
In the end, it will come down to the staff he hires around him, which could include his son, Stephen, who is currently the Washington Huskies defensive coordinator.
Belichick’s success will hinge on his ability to adapt, build a powerhouse staff, and connect with recruits in an era defined by player autonomy. With the Tar Heels betting big on NFL pedigree, the stage is set for one of the most intriguing experiments in college football history.
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