One of the most accomplished coaches in NFL history is apparently leaving the league. According to Adam Smith of Inside Carolina, the University of Carolina is finalizing a deal that will make New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick their next head coach.
BREAKING: UNC finalizing deal to land Bill Belichick as new football coach. Story --> https://t.co/eGdl2khfBX pic.twitter.com/a44y92gBZZ
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) December 11, 2024
Belichick interviewed for UNC's head coaching vacancy last week, stunning many in the football world. Belichick has never coached at the college level, and his famously surly demeanor seems like a strange fit for a sport that necessitates recruiting, motivating, and teaching teenagers.
Belichick may lack the ideal experience and temperament, but it's not difficult to see why UNC would be interested in the future Hall of Famer. His six Super Bowl championships are an NFL record amongst coaches, and his 302 regular season wins trail only Don Shula's 328 and George Halas's 318. Belichick brings instant credibility to a school that is still looking for its first-ever College Football Playoff berth.
If anything, it's the fact that UNC COULD land Belichick that comes as a shock. UNC's profile in college football hardly seems appropriate for a coach of Belichick's stature. In their 121-year history, they've won a mere seven conference championships and have only finished as a ranked team in the Associated Press Postseason Poll 17 times.
It's possible that Belichick, who will turn 73 in April, sees a job at UNC as a sort of semi-retirement, a lower-stakes position in which he can gently ease into old age. Still, given he was interviewing for NFL head coaching vacancies earlier this year, receding to the college ranks reads a little bit like an admission of failure. As hard as it is to believe, the NFL may have turned its back on the iconic coach.
Photo Credit: © Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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