North Carolina hires Bill Belichick: Legendary NFL coach, 72, joins college ranks in stunning career move

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 collegiate level in any capacity, will take over the top coaching position 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 times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.” 

Belichick agreed to a five-year deal, pending administration approval. Previous coach Mack Brown was paid $5 million per season.

“This is an exciting day for Carolina football and our University,” North Carolina chancellor Lee H. Roberts said. “Carolina is committed to excellence and to creating an opportunity to succeed in everything we do, from the classroom to the field of competition. I know after speaking with Coach Belichick that 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 Belichick’s candidacy and that he was finalizing a deal with UNC on Wednesday. North Carolina’s Board of Trustees is reportedly set to approve Belichick’s contract on Thursday.

Belichick’s interest in the Tar Heels opening was the first known contact he had with a college job since leaving the New England Patriots in 2023. He has been spending the 2024 season working in television; however, ESPN reported in September that Belichick hoped to return to coaching in 2025.

The hire comes after North Carolina fired Brown, 73, following six seasons in his second stint with the team. Brown was only FBS coach older than 70; Belichick, eight months younger, will be embarking on his first job coaching college football at any level.

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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 run 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 clear 300 wins, and now, Belichick will likely end his NFL career standing 14 wins shy of Shula’s all-time career victories record.

There was belief around the NFL that Belichick would not seriously consider moving to the collegiate ranks when his interview with North Carolina was first reported. However, Belichick seemingly impressed UNC brass and expressed openness to dealing with the complications and realities of college football.

“He has literally been open to all of it,” 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 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 for football alongside UNC’s luring of basketball coach Roy Williams away from Kansas in 2003.

Questions now shift to how Belichick will transition to the modern college football world, including recruiting, NIL and staff building.

Belichick on Monday confirmed his talks with North Carolina during an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show.” While he declined to go into specifics at the time, he did share his perspective of how to operate a college football program in the modern era.

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“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, whether that was the end of their college career or the end of their pro career.”

His son, Steve Belichick, spent the 2024 season as defensive coordinator at Washington. It is believed that the younger Belichick having a substantial role in the program was part of his father’s overall pitch to the Tar Heels.

North Carolina posted four winning seasons in the most recent six-year stint under Brown, including 17 wins during the 2022-23 campaigns. He left as the winningest coach in program history with 113 victories.