Bill Belichick made sure he won over North Carolina fans early in his first press conference.
The former New England Patriots coach was introduced as head coach of the Tar Heels on Thursday. The beginning of the press conference leaned heavily on the time Belichick’s father, Steve, spent as an assistant in North Carolina.
Belichick was a toddler when his father was at UNC, and he said he remembered hearing a famous family story about himself as a young child after holding up an old sweatshirt of his father’s on stage.
“Billy’s first words were ‘beat Duke,’” Belichick said.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is only the second coach to take on a head coaching job after winning championships in the NFL alongside Bill Walsh. Belichick, who spent the 2023 season without coaching, said he always wanted to coach college football and followed that with a deadpan line.
“I always wanted to coach college football, but it never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK.”
Belichick also made it clear that he has no plans to leave for the NFL and take another shot at the pros. He signed a five-year contract with the school and was asked about a scenario in which he coaches at North Carolina for a few seasons before returning to the NFL.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said.
The 2025 season will be Belichick’s 30th as head coach. Before 24 seasons with the Patriots, Belichick was head coach of the Cleveland Browns for five seasons.
When asked why he wanted to continue working, Belichick said he felt like coaching football wasn’t a job.
“Beats work,” Belichick said. “If you love what you do – my father told me this – if you love what you do, it’s not work. I love what I do. I love coaching, I love interacting with players, I love building a team. Assistants, game planning, the game itself.”
Belichick replaces Mack Brown at North Carolina. Brown was one of only three active head coaches – along with Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart – who had previously won a national title. Brown was in his second stint at North Carolina and was fired with one game left in the regular season.
Former Browns interim coach and current UNC assistant Freddie Kitchens has been named the team’s interim coach for the Fenway Bowl. Belichick said Kitchens would be the first addition to his coaching staff for the 2025 season.
Belichick added that he spoke with Michael Jordan before taking the North Carolina job and debunked the rumor that he gave UNC officials a 400-page document on a football team’s organizational structure.
“I have no idea where that came from; I don’t have a 400-page document,” Belichick said.
Belichick’s credibility in the NFL is unquestioned: He is the second-winningest coach in the league’s history and has the most Super Bowl wins of any coach. But it’s not unreasonable to wonder if Belichick will be able to replicate that success at the college level, especially since he has no prior college coaching experience.
Walsh coached two seasons at Stanford before winning three Super Bowls with the 49ers. His second time at Stanford lasted three seasons. The Cardinal won ten games in the first season of its return. It won seven games over the next two seasons combined before Walsh retired.
But the college game is a lot different than when Walsh returned with an impending revenue-sharing agreement with players and their current freedom to transfer and earn money from their name, image and likeness rights. Belichick pointed out the parallels to the college game with the NFL because of the changes, but also made it clear that there are differences as well.
As part of Belichick’s hiring, the school is also bringing in former NFL executive Michael Lombardi in a general manager role, similar to what you would see in an NFL front office. When asked how involved he will be in recruiting, Belichick mentioned how similar the operation at Carolina would be to the one he worked with in the NFL.
“I think the recruiting process belongs to everyone,” Belichick said. “It belongs to Michael and his scouting staff and evaluations and setting that up, the recruiting department and making it an attractive destination for the athlete. But it’s also part of the coaching job. Certainly, the head coach has a big role in that as well. to assure the athletes that you are giving them what they want.”
