There's no way Bill Belichick, who's 15 wins away from surpassing Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history, would spurn professional football to coach at the University of North Carolina, of all places ... right?
That's a fair reaction to Thursday's report from 247Sports' Grant Hughes that Belichick has interviewed for UNC's head coach opening. But Belichick does appear to have real interest in the North Carolina job -- even if it may not be his Plan A.
Albert Breer of The MMQB shared some interesting reporting about Belichick's coaching plans Thursday night on Amazon Prime's "Thursday Night Football" broadcast.
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"I was told by somebody who would know earlier this week that whether it's in high school, college or the pros, Bill Belichick will coach in 2025," Breer said.
"Now, the assumption would be that it's going to be in the NFL. I still think that's the most likely scenario. However, he's not going to take an NFL job just to take an NFL job. Things have to be right; the reporting structure, all of that stuff has to be in place, and that's why he's looked at potential alternatives."
From TNF Tonight—Early word on the @ChicagoBears search, and breaking down Bill Belichick’s flirtation with UNC. pic.twitter.com/tTu04QMAIA
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 6, 2024
Despite his illustrious track record as a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, Belichick landing an NFL coaching job is no slam dunk. When the Falcons passed on Belichick to hire Raheem Morris in January, reports suggested Atlanta was wary of the 72-year-old coach wanting too much organizational control. And while the Falcons denied those reports, it's still the perception in NFL circles that Belichick would seek to run things his way.
"Some people close to the situation will tell you Belichick won't insist on the same level of organizational control at his next stop as he had in New England, but not everyone believes that," ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote Friday. "It's possible that a team hiring him would have to make major changes to its front office structure to accommodate him."
Teams may not be eager to make those "major changes" for a soon-to-be 73-year-old head coach, even one of Belichick's stature. So, perhaps Belichick is casting a wider net in case an NFL coaching job doesn't pan out. And as Breer points out, there are elements of the college game that could appeal to the legendary head coach.
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"He believes that because of some of the elements that have been introduced to the college game -- the transfer portal, NIL -- there are more NFL types of challenges at that level now," Breer said of Belichick. "And he actually thinks he might be able to build a winner in college faster than he would be able to in the NFL because of it."
College football does have more of a pro-style feel with players being able to make money and change schools. Maybe Belichick would relish that challenge to build a winner at the college level after having so much success in the NFL.
That said, it seems like an NFL coaching job remains Belichick's primary goal, with his UNC interview serving as a signal that he has options outside the professional level.