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Andrea Adelson, ESPN senior writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Bill Belichick cracked some jokes, held up an old UNC sweatshirt that belonged to his father and promised to bring a professional role model to North Carolina at his introductory news conference Thursday as the new head coach. the Tar Heels.
Belichick was greeted with a standing ovation as he entered the room to speak to a crowd of media and UNC supporters, including newly inducted College Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers.
In many ways, it seemed surreal: a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, a giant among coaches, sitting on a stand inside Kenan Memorial Stadium with Carolina blue seats just outside the suite doors.
Belichick, who spent his entire career in the NFL and is second only to Don Shula (328) with 302 regular-season wins, said he had always wanted to coach in college.
“It never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so it was good, but this is a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad. When I was a kid, all I knew was college football.”
His father, Steve, was an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953 to 1955. During his introductory remarks, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts pulled out a copy of the 1954 North Carolina media guide and read an excerpt about Steve Belichick ending with a line about his 2-year-old son, William Steven. “Coach, welcome back to Carolina,” Roberts said.
Roberts presented Belichick with a short-sleeve gray hoodie, the coach’s signature look. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham pulled out a jacket with the sleeves torn off, another ode to Belichick. At that point, Belichick said he had his own gear and pulled out a white hoodie his father had during his time in Carolina.
“You can tell I liked it,” Belichick said. “I’ve kept it for a long time.
“It’s great to go back to Carolina and the environment that I really grew up in. When you’re little, you don’t remember everything. I was too young to remember a lot of things in Carolina, but as I got older, you hear the same story over and over again . One story I always heard was: ‘Billy’s first words were, ‘Beat Duke.'”
That phrase provoked laughter and applause from the delighted fans in the room. Belichick, 72, is making his first foray into college football after working in some capacity in the NFL from 1975 until he and the Patriots parted ways after the 2023 season.
He replaces Mack Brown, 73, the winningest coach in school history. Brown, who was fired after a 6-6 season, finished his second stint at the school with a record of 44-33 in six years and an overall mark of 113-79-1 with the Tar Heels.
“It’s better than working,” Belichick said when asked why, at his age, he wanted to return to coaching after a year off. “My dad told us, ‘When you love what you do, it’s not work.’ I love what I do. I love coaching. I love the interaction with the players. I love building a team, game planning, working with little kids. , with the energy and enthusiasm. It’s fantastic every day he comes to that environment.”
He was also asked if he would return to the NFL if he had immediate success in college.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said. “I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. I’m ready to get started.”
Belichick said Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who was a Patriots assistant from 2014 to 2016, will serve as general manager of the Tar Heels football program. Belichick also said he will retain interim UNC coach Freddie Kitchens, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
North Carolina has played football for 136 years, but its most recent ACC championship came in 1980. Football has largely taken a back seat to basketball, but bringing in Belichick represents a new era.
The school is making a significant investment in football with its recruitment.
“In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘the future is not what it used to be’ and we are embarking on a completely new football operation,” Cunningham said. “We can’t wait to have [Coach Belichick] leading the charge for us.”
The five-year contract runs through December 2029 and is worth $10 million per season: a base salary of $1 million and $9 million in supplemental income. The first three years of the agreement are guaranteed.
Belichick could also receive up to $3.5 million per season in bonuses tied to regular-season wins, ACC championship games and postseason appearances, final CFP poll ranking, coach of the year awards and team academic standing.
He would be responsible for a $10 million buyout if he left UNC before June 1, 2025. After that date, he would have to pay $1 million to end his deal with UNC.
Cunningham told The News & Observer (Raleigh) that Belichick will continue to make regular appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” and “ManningCast” on ESPN while coaching UNC.
Many of the questions Thursday revolved around how Belichick’s NFL experience will translate into a college football model that looks more like the NFL, with the transfer portal, NIL and upcoming revenue sharing serving as salary cap.
Belichick said the head coach/general manager model he is bringing in will help with UNC’s transformation into a professional organization.
“When I say a pro program, I would say through my experience, what we did in terms of coaching, player development, running pro systems, pro techniques,” Belichick said. “So when the players leave here, this will not go from being a wishbone to a professional offense. It will be similar terminology, similar techniques and fundamentals, similar training, similar preparation techniques that have been very successful for me throughout over the years, whether other college teams use them or not. I mean, some do, some don’t, but I know these will prepare the players for that.
“So the general manager and head coach model is a similar type of situation for evaluating high school kids and players in the college transfer portal. NFL teams are evaluating college players and free agent players of the NFL. So again, there are some similarities.”
There will be a pool of $10 million for Belichick’s assistant coaches, and $1 million for the strength and conditioning staff. The university has also allocated $5.3 million for a “support staff,” including additional funding for the new CEO position.
Belichick said his time in Washington, where his son Steve served as defensive coordinator under Jedd Fisch, also prepared him for what’s to come. He said Washington is modeled after a professional program and that gave him ideas.
Belichick also noted that he gets a lot of calls from coaches across conferences (from the Big Ten, ACC and SEC) about recent rule changes that moved the game more toward the NFL (from the two-minute warning to helmet-to-helmet play ). communication and use of tablets on the sidelines.
As for recruiting, Belichick said he hoped to persuade players to come to North Carolina and that he would recruit nationally.
“The hiring process belongs to everyone,” he said. “Whatever helps our team, that’s what I want to do.”
