Bill Belichick: The greatest football coach of all time, who accounts for eight Super Bowl rings and is a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer.
That is, until he hangs up the whistle, which might not be just yet.
His last season in New England wasn’t a great one, with the Patriots winning just four games and picking third in the 2024 NFL Draft.
After a year of being unemployed, I thought Belichick would use this time to lay low and enjoy a break from football.
Boy, was I wrong.
From appearing on nearly every Monday Night Football game to join “ManningCast,” to being a weekly contributor on “The Pat McAfee Show,” and even showing up to “The Roast of Tom Brady,” Belichick has done everything but take a break, it seems.
Now, we’re at the point of the NFL season when rumors are starting to swirl about future landing spots for coaches. There are many prominent names that will be available beyond Belichick, like Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, among others.
And this past week or so, rumors came to light that Belichick has been in contact with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to become its next football coach.
My immediate reaction: UNC?!
I’ll state my bias now: I like Duke (because of Coach K), so I automatically hate UNC. Funny how that works…
My second thought was, man, NFL teams just don’t think Belichick is worth the risk.
Listen, he’s the greatest coach ever. There’s no denying that, says a 20-something year old living in New England.
However, he’s 72 years old and after Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay, it’s not like Belichick left the Patriots in the best of conditions. He’s going to want full control and most programs don’t want to give coaches that.
Ugh, Bill wearing light blue, as opposed to New England navy. I’m still shocked.
I never thought he’d go the college route, unless he was a general manager or something. But love him or hate him, Belichick in the world of college football would be some spectacle.
Reports suggest that Belichick would want to turn North Carolina into an NFL pathway, where players who choose to go there will be coached like NFL players, train like professionals, and live a day-to-day life, balancing school and their “profession.”
Now, the question is, would it work?
I’m hesitant to believe it would. I’m sure UNC will get a lot of high-end recruits who want to learn from Belichick, but if Nick Saban got tired of coaching because of NIL, I can’t see how Belichick would like it either.
Like a talented director dealing with Hollywood producers, If UNC gives Belichick complete control of his project, then maybe – just maybe – it could work.
After all, I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised that Belichick has an interest in UNC. His favorite defensive player of all time, Lawrence Taylor, went there.
Personally, I want to see Belichick break the NFL wins record, but if teams don’t want to hire him, then I guess I can secretly root for UNC football to do well.
