Bill Belichick has his next head coaching job
On Wednesday Bill Belichick was named the next football head coach at the University of North Carolina. What started as one of the biggest surprise reports of the year in…
Jan 7, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks to reporters after the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
David Butler II-USA TODAY SportsOn Wednesday Bill Belichick was named the next football head coach at the University of North Carolina.
What started as one of the biggest surprise reports of the year in all of football has now become reality. On Wednesday evening, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been hired as the new head coach of the University of North Carolina football program.
The move comes about a week after the initial report of Belichick speaking with UNC officials. Those reports picked up momentum throughout the week, with reported sticking points involving budgeting resources and the structure of the program.
This is Belichick’s first coaching job since the Patriots parted ways with him back in January after 24 years that included a 266-121 record and six Super Bowl wins.
Prior to his time with the Patriots, Belichick was an NFL lifer from his first job as an assistant for the then-Baltimore Colts in 1975. Now, he moves onto his first gig at the college level.
Jim Rogash/Getty Images<em><sup>After 48 years in the NFL, Bill Belichick is headed to coach at the college level. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)</sup></em>
Of course, recent developments with the NCAA have the college game resembling the NFL more than ever before. That’s something Belichick plans to take advantage of with his new job.
"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 earlier this week. "It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, scheme, coaching and techniques that would transfer to the NFL."
In order to do that, Belichick will need to build out an NFL staff. That staff is expected to include multiple former Patriots coaches including Bill’s son Steve Belichick, who could reportedly be named “head coach in waiting.”
WATCH: Zolak & McKone discuss Bill Belichick and the UNC job
The other big question will be who Belichick tabs to run the program’s recruiting, with that field representing the biggest change from the NFL. The transfer portal is already open, which means that job will be a factor right away.
Belichick will be tasked with taking over a Tar Heels team that went 6-6 in 2024, including a 3-5 record in conference play that left them in 12th place in the ACC. Longtime coach Mack Brown was let go at the end of the season (interim Freddie Kitchens is expected to coach the team in the Fenway Bowl later this month).
