North Carolina

UNC coaching search: Tar Heels offer Belichick coaching job

Posted December 10, 2024 2:04 p.m. EST
Updated December 10, 2024 11:50 p.m. EST

UNC offers coaching job to Bill Belichick
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UNC offers coaching job to Bill Belichick

The hoodie could be coming to Chapel Hill.

In a move that could have national reverberations and, perhaps, change the fortunes of North Carolina's football program, the Tar Heels have offered former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick their head coaching job, multiple sources told WRAL on Tuesday.

No deal had been completed as of Tuesday evening and no announcement was imminent. The UNC Board of Trustees must approve the contract, if agreed to between the six-time Super Bowl-champion coach and the university.

Belichick has never coached in college, but his interest in the position has turned UNC's search into a national story, igniting a debate about whether he should make the move and exposing friction within the university.

Belichick said Monday that he has spoken with UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts about the position. He outlined his vision for running an NFL-style program at the collegiate level during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."

Belichick, 72, signaled several notes of caution during the appearance.

"We've had a couple good conversations," Belichick said Monday. "We'll see how it goes."

Athletics director Bubba Cunningham and Roberts are leading the search to find a replacement for Mack Brown. The 73-year-old Brown was fired in late November before the Tar Heels' regular-season finale against NC State.

UNC coaching search: Bill Belichick offered Tar Heels' football job
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UNC coaching search: Bill Belichick offered Tar Heels' football job

On Tuesday, a reporter for The Guardian posted on social media that Belichick had agreed to become the Tar Heels' head coach contingent on the university accepting his "400-page organizational bible." But the report cited no sources, and WRAL sources indicated they were unaware of such a decision or document.

Belichick is notoriously detail oriented.

"Anytime, as a coach, you join with an organization, whatever level it's at, you just want a shared vision with the with that person," Belichick said Monday.

"What are your goals? What are your expectations? What do you need to achieve those? How do we achieve them?"

Other NFL-connected reporters indicated the UNC-Belichick situation was fluid.

As the process has reached beyond Cunningham's expected timeline — he previously said he hoped to have a coach in place by Monday, though he said that could move in either direction — some of the divisions at UNC have spilled into view.

Cunningham laid out a process for the search with his initial list of 30 being trimmed by a small advisory group to 10 or 12, followed by video interviews and then in-person interviews.

Belichick was on that initial long list, multiple sources have told WRAL.

A senior official at UNC told WRAL on Monday night that the process has been prolonged by the actions of some members of the Board of Trustees, which has caused confusion in the search process. Another source disputed that characterization to WRAL.

National outlets have reported on the search's confusing nature. ESPN reported the search has been "scattered, according to sources, with uncertainty in the industry about who is running it." Sports Illustrated reported that the search has had "conflicting ideas and agendas." The Athletic reported that search "highlights the type of disagreement and dysfunction that can arise inside a major college athletic department."

Board of Trustees chair John Preyer has been publicly critical of Cunningham in recent months over a number of issues in, including the manner and timing of Brown's firing.

If the Tar Heels were to land Belichick, it could lead to a revamping of the entire football program, which has struggled to keep up with recruiting (high school players and transfers) in the name, image and likeness era. And it could deliver a spike in interest and giving to the program, which has not won an ACC football title since 1980.

"If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL," Belichick said. "It would be a professional program, training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football."

Belichick previously coached the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and won two Super Bowl as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, where he coached UNC legend and NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.

Belichick's son, Steve, is the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.

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