After missing out on Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the North Carolina Tar Heels have hired a different former NFL head coach. Bill Belichick. Belichick’s not coaching stop won’t be in the pros, but at the college level, the two sides are reportedly finalizing a deal to make him the Tar Heels’ next head coach.
Multiple reports, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Pete Thamel, and Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, have indicated that the deal is officially happening.
UPDATE (7:51 PM): The Tar Heels have officially announced Belichick as their next head coach.
Close friend Michael Lombardi will reportedly by the school’s de-facto GM.
North Carolina initially courted Smith, who played and briefly coached at North Carolina in the 2000s. However, Smith turned down the opportunity and expressed his desire to remain in the NFL with the Steelers. The school pivoted to Belichick in what many thought was either a cursory interview or Belichick attempting to gain NFL leverage by feigning interest in a college job.
But after a recent five-hour meeting with the school and Belichick’s Monday confirmation, he spoke with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts, news picked up steam about the possibility being legitimate. Earlier Wednesday, reports indicated the sides were closing in on a deal but had more hurdles around NIL and son Stephen Belichick’s role with the program. It seems all those problems have been solved.
Per The Athletic’s Ralph Drusso, the deal is three-year, $30 million.
Belichick is expected to run North Carolina like an NFL team with a general manager and personnel side to help manage NIL and recruiting. He intends to be a football coach, coaching in the college ranks for the first time in his 50-year coaching career. Belichick, who will be 73 when he coaches his first game next season, broke into the NFL in 1975 and had been in the league until 2024. Parting ways with the New England Patriots at the end of 2023, he sat out this year while making multiple media appearances with ESPN, The CW, and other outlets.
Despite a lack of college ties, his father, Steve Belichick, coached at North Carolina for a few seasons in the 1950s before beginning a long career at Navy.
Just 14 wins shy of Don Shula’s record for most total wins in NFL history (regular season and playoffs), many expected Belichick to pursue a head coaching job in the pros. But he’s going the college route, perhaps realizing an NFL job would be hard to come by after being frozen out of a chance last season. In this past hiring cycle, he only received an interview with the Atlanta Falcons and was passed over for Raheem Morris.
It’s a radical move that would’ve been completely unexpected even one month ago. It will make for one of the most interesting stories in football, NFL or college, next year. Belichick could prove why he’s a Hall of Fame coach and turn North Carolina into a powerhouse, or the differences in the college game could prove to be too much, and his stint could be unsuccessful.
Belichick replaces Mack Brown, who was fired late in the year after an underwhelming season and several early upset losses. The Tar Heels are 6-6 prior to their bowl game. Their last double-digit win season came when they went 11-3 in 2015, their only such season since 1998.
