Could Bill Belichick’s potential return to coaching take place in the college ranks?
According to multiple reports, Belichick has at least spoken to North Carolina representatives about the school’s open head coaching job. The former New England Patriots head coach has been out of coaching through the 2024 season since parting ways with the Patriots at the end of 2023.
However, it seems wise to temper your expectations for Belichick’s candidacy, at least according to The News & Observer.
Source confirms @InsideCarolina report that Bill Belichick interviewed for UNC’s head coaching vacancy.
“He blew them away in the interview.”
I’m told Belichick’s interest is strong and genuine. But due to his age (72) and lack of college experience, this is extremely unlikely.
– Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) December 5, 2024
North Carolina fired coach Mack Brown at the end of the season and Brown will not coach the Tar Heels’ bowl game. Brown was in his second stint at the school.
Belichick, 72, is about eight months younger than Brown. He has never coached college football, although his father Steve was a longtime college coach and spent more than 30 years in the Navy. Belichick’s son Steve is in his first season as defensive coordinator at Washington and he is also very good friends with former Alabama coach Nick Saban. If there was anything Belichick needed to know about the current state of college football, we bet Saban wouldn’t be shy about sharing that information.
The Patriots won six Super Bowls during Belichick’s 24 seasons with the team. The team’s last title came at the end of the 2018 season, and New England missed the playoffs in each of Belichick’s final two seasons with the team. New England went 266-121 over Belichick’s time with the team.
Belichick has been open to continuing his coaching career since leaving the Patriots and has been a regular on ESPN’s Manningcast during Monday Night Football games this season.
From Belichick’s conversations with UNC, it is clear that North Carolina is casting a wide net as Brown’s successor. Over the weekend, Arthur Smith, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, said he would not be a candidate for the job. Smith is a North Carolina alum in his first season with the Steelers.
Brown was hired in 2019 after a five-year hiatus from coaching following his departure from Texas at the end of the 2013 season. North Carolina won at least six games in each of his six seasons with the school, but the team went only 6- 6 in 2024, after going 9-5 in 2022. Brown was North Carolina’s head coach from 1988 to 1997 before taking the Texas job. .
