Bill Belichick has been hired as the next coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, the school announced Wednesday. The six-time Super Bowl champion, who has never coached at the college level in any capacity, will take the top coaching job on the open market.
“I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Belichick said in a statement released by the school. “I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those moments. I always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to developing the football program at Chapel Hill.”
Belichick agreed to a five-year deal, pending administration approval. The previous coach, Mack Brown, earned $5 million per season.
“This is an exciting day for Carolina football and our University,” said North Carolina Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “Carolina is committed to excellence and creating an opportunity to succeed in everything we do, from the classroom to the competition field.” . After speaking with Coach Belichick, I know he shares that commitment. “His legacy speaks for itself and we look forward to working together on the next chapter of Carolina football.”
Inside Carolina first reported on Belichick’s candidacy and that he was finalizing a deal with UNC on Wednesday. The North Carolina Board of Trustees will reportedly approve Belichick’s contract on Thursday.
Belichick’s interest in starting the Tar Heels was the first known contact he had with a college job since leaving the New England Patriots in 2023. He has spent the 2024 season working in television; However, ESPN reported in September that Belichick hoped to return to coaching in 2025.
The hiring comes after North Carolina fired Brown, 73, after six seasons in his second stint with the team. Brown was the only FBS coach over 70; Belichick, eight months younger, will embark on his first college football coaching job at any level.
Bill Belichick Gives Old North Carolina College a Chance: Inside the Super Bowl-Winning Coach’s Shocking Career Turn
jonathan jones
Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, winning six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as an assistant. He won three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards during a legendary 24-year career with the Patriots and holds NFL records for most Super Bowl appearances (nine), playoff wins (19) and division championships (17). as a coach. In total, he spent 49 years coaching in the NFL.
Belichick, Don Shula and George Halas are the only coaches in NFL history to achieve 300 wins, and now, Belichick will likely finish his NFL career 14 wins shy of Shula’s all-time wins record.
There was a belief in the NFL that Belichick would not seriously consider a move to the college ranks when his interview with North Carolina was first reported. However, Belichick apparently impressed UNC’s higher-ups and expressed his openness to dealing with the complications and realities of college football.
“He’s literally been open to everything,” a source told CBS Sports’ Jones.
The addition of Belichick is a watershed moment for North Carolina, an athletic department best known for its men’s basketball program and its immense success in non-revenue sports. He instantly adds an air of credibility (even beyond what Brown brought as a national championship-winning coach) to the football team, given his legendary NFL career.
Some may place the importance of Belichick’s hiring to football alongside UNC’s luring basketball coach Roy Williams away from Kansas in 2003.
Questions now center on how Belichick will transition into the modern world of college football, including recruiting, NIL and personnel development.
Belichick confirmed his conversations with North Carolina during an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday. While he declined to go into details at the time, he did share his perspective on how to operate a college football program in the modern era.
RELATED: How Drake Maye, Lawrence Taylor and others reacted to Belichick’s surprising hiring
“If I was in a college program, the college program would be a conduit to the NFL for players who had the ability to play in the NFL.” Belichick said“It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, scheme, training, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at the college level and an education that would prepare players for their career after football.” whether it’s the end of your college career or the end of your professional career.”
His son, Steve Belichick, spent the 2024 season as defensive coordinator in Washington. The fact that the young Belichick had a major role in the program is believed to have been part of his father’s overall pitch toward the Tar Heels.
North Carolina posted four winning seasons in the most recent six-year period under Brown, including 17 wins during the 2022-23 campaigns. He emerged as the winningest coach in program history with 113 wins.
