Admin December 11, 2024
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Bill Belichick’s return to coaching won’t be on a NFL sideline.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and the University of North Carolina are finalizing a deal to make Belichick, 72, the school’s next head football coach, according to ESPN and multiple reports. Inside Carolina was first to report the deal, which The Athletic reported was for three years and $30 million.
Belichick’s 333 career victories (including the postseason) are 14 shy of Don Shula’s record for victories by an NFL head coach. The former New England Patriots head coach was not brought back for the 2024 season after 23 years with the team, and he did not land any other coaching positions during the offseason after being a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons job.
The mutual interest between UNC and Belichick was first reported last week. During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, Belichick – in his classically terse fashion – said he has had “a couple of good conversations” with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts while adding he didn’t want to give away too much information about the specific nature of the talks.
Belichick did elaborate on his vision for a college program and said it would be a professional outfit in terms of nutrition, strength and conditioning and player development.
“I think there are a lot of (college) football programs being structured similar to pro programs,” Belichick said.
After parting with the Patriots, Belichick became active in the NFL media space this season. In addition to his weekly spots with McAfee, he’s also a guest on every “ManningCast” for “Monday Night Football.” He co-hosts a preview show with Peyton Manning for ESPN and is a cast member of “Inside the NFL” every week.
Belichick has never coached in college. His coaching career started as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1974 and he spent time with the Denver Broncos before landing with the New York Giants in 1980. The first of his eight career Super Bowl victories came as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells with the Giants, and his first head-coaching gig came with the Cleveland Browns before his 40th birthday in 1991.
Belichick’s father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime coach at the United States Naval Academy during Bill Belichick’s youth. Prior to that, however, Steve Belichick coached at UNC, and the McAfee Show displayed a photo of Bill Belichick as a child sitting in the bleachers at Kenan Stadium.
Belichick’s son, also named Steve Belichick, is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington, and would re-join his father’s staff (he and his brother Brian worked for Belichick with the Patriots). Multiple reports last week indicated Steve Belichick would likely be named coach-in-waiting.
At 72, Belichick is the oldest coach in college football. The previous oldest coach is the man Belichick is replacing at UNC, Mack Brown, who coached the Tar Heels in two separate stints and won the 2006 national title at Texas. Brown was fired by the school on Nov. 26.
Over the weekend, a trio of Belichick’s former players in New England – Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski – shot down the idea of Belichick wanting to coach in college. But with name, image and likeness funding and the transfer portal, college programs are operating more like NFL organizations.
As part of the negotiations with Belichick, the school agreed to increase its NIL funding from $4 million to $20 million, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet official.
Belichick’s sixth Super Bowl victory came after the 2018 season. After Tom Brady’s departure in 2020, the Patriots made the postseason once. Following a 4-13 season in 2023, the Patriots replaced Belichick with Jerod Mayo; New England is 3-10 this year.
“He is a great coach,” Mayo said Monday on Boston radio station WEEI. “And to me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a young man or a 10-year vet in the league, like he’s a great teacher. And I wish him nothing but the best. It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.”
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.