NFL Insider Has Telling Reason Why Bill Belichick Took UNC Job
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is officially the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. While the decision to go to college rather than the NFL for 2025 was a head-scratcher for most, one NFL insider had some insight as to why it ultimately worked out.
Appearing on Speak, Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz explained that Belichick simply didn't get the level of interest from others teams that he thought he did. Schultz said that his sources revealed that Belichick explored his NFL coaching prospects via back channels and learned that the teams with available jobs simply weren't interested in him for a number of reasons.
"What happened... was that Bill and his agent back-channeled with NFL teams. And it became clear to him that he did not have the type of interest that he thought he would garner..." Schultz said. "Last year he went pretty far with the Atlanta Falcons... Ultimately did not get the job. Bill did not want to go through another coaching cycle... without getting a job. But the other part about this too is he wants to run a program the way he wants to run it with the power..."
One of those reasons was the level of control that Belichick reportedly wanted as a condition for accepting a job.
The other is a lack of trust that Belichick would be willing to work with them if he didn't have that level of personnel control.
FOXBORO, MA - August 11: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick screams out at line judge Carl Johnson #101 during the first half of the NFL game against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium on August 11, 2022 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
By contrast, the Tar Heels were willing to give Belichick the keys to the kingdom and set him up in a way where he would be able to run the UNC football program like an NFL team, giving him personnel power, significant NIL investment to recruit players and the ability to hire some pricier NFL-caliber coaches as his assistants.
"At the end of the day, coaches coach. And whether it's college or pro, Bill Belichick wanted to coach again," Schultz concluded.
Well, Belichick got his wish. And if he's as good of a coach as he thinks he is, he might be able to build UNC into a major force in short order the way that Curt Cignetti, Kenny Dillingham, Rhett Lashlee or Spencer Danielson have with their once-afterthought programs.
