Bill Belichick is pondering a flabbergasting career choice.
247 Sports’ Grant Hughes recently reported Belichick — a six-time Super Bowl champion head coach — interviewed for North Carolina’s head-coaching vacancy. On Monday, the former New England Patriots HC confirmed the report.
“I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Chancellor [Lee Roberts], and we’ve had a couple of good conversations, so we’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
The Tar Heels have interviewed multiple candidates to replace recently fired HC Mack Brown. However, Belichick possibly made the strongest impression. “He blew them away in the interview,” a source told Andrew Carter of The News & Observer.
Why would Belichick want to move to the college level? He needs just 15 wins (including the playoffs) to break Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula’s record (347).
Belichick added recent changes in college football — including NIL and the transfer portal — are reasons the North Carolina job intrigues him.
“I’ve had a chance this year to take a longer look at college football … It seems like college football is more like pro football,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of college coaches about things like the salary cap and putting values on players and negotiating, kind of mixing it all together.”
Per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, schools in power conferences will have a salary cap starting July 1 of the 2025-26 sports year. He noted the projected cap number is $20.5M.
Belichick was considered the de facto general manager during his 24-year tenure with the Patriots. It’s safe to assume he knows how a salary cap works, which could give him an edge over his college competition.
Belichick has never coached in college, raising questions about his recruiting skills. He said his program would be an “NFL pipeline,” which could attract the top players in the country and erase this concern.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Chris Low reported both parties are expected to reach a decision “this week.” If Belichick accepts the job, it could send shock waves throughout the football world.
