Look out Chapel Hill, Bill Belichick is coming.
Belichick and North Carolina Tar Heels They have reportedly completed a deal with the 72-year-old to become their next football coach, according to ESPN.
UNC will give Belichick a three-year, $30 million deal, The Athletic reported.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach remained interested in returning to the sidelines at some point in the future, but it was always expected that he would make his way back onto the gridiron. NFL After missing out on a new gig following his departure from the New England Patriots before this season. After all, Belichick had been in the league in some role since 1975 before this season.
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FILE – New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick blows his whistle during an NFL football practice, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Stephen Sinn, File)
But earlier this week, The Guardian reported that Belichick had agreed to become the new head coach at Chapel Hill, adding that Belichick had handed the school a 400-page “organizational playbook” that includes structure, pay plans, recruiting options, etc.
then, ESPN reported The two sides were close to reaching an agreement on Wednesday, with some issues still to be resolved.
OutKick's Trey Wallace reported that the final hurdle was the money not being negotiated, and if that was clarified, an emergency trustee meeting would be called to finalize the deal. Now that's done, the final step is to wait for the official announcement.
Among the boxes to be checked was an unusual request from Belichick: His son, Stephen Belichick, who serves as Washington's defensive coordinator, wants to become his coach-in-waiting and will step in when his father decides to leave the program.
This will be Belichick's first stint as a college football coach. His father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime assistant coach at Navy. But he had a stint in the 1950s with the Tar Heels.
Belichick has spent a lot of consistent time NFL season In the media spotlight after his interviews for NFL jobs did not lead to a job offer.
While it is Interviews with the Atlanta Falcons In January, the franchise opted not to extend the offer. Belichick doesn't appear to have generated much interest from any other team in the NFL, but his regular appearances on ESPN's “ManningCast” and the CW's “Inside the NFL” have brought him close to football.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier this week, Belichick confirmed that he has been in talks with UNC about the head coach vacancy, adding that he has spent the 11 months since his departure from the Patriots taking a “longer look” at college football throughout the time. The season is unlike what it was during the spring leading up to the draft as a professional coach.
“It's been a good year for me. I've learned a lot,” Belichick said. “So, I had the opportunity to talk to Chancellor (Lee) Roberts, and we had a couple of good conversations. So we'll see how it goes.”
Belichick chose not to go into further detail when asked by McAfee. Instead, Belichick made a quip about his reputation for providing terse responses during press conferences with the Patriots.
“Yeah, let's leave it at that, Pat,” Belichick said with a smile. “I mean I don't want to give away too much information. I want to restore the aura of the press conference.”
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick announces that he is leaving the team during a news conference at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on January 11, 2024. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
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Belichick shared some details about what a college program would be like if he were a head coach.
“If you're in a college program, the college program will be a pipeline to the NFL for players who have the ability to play in the NFL,” he said. “It will be a professional program — training, nutrition, scheme, training and techniques that will transfer to the NFL.”
Belichick is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history. He finished the 2023 season with 333 career wins – which places him second on the all-time coaches wins list. Don Shula's 347 victories still top all coaches.
