Could the smoke around Bill Belichick and North Carolina turn into fire?
The former New England Patriots head coach reportedly interviewed for UNC's head coach opening last week, a development that raised plenty of eyebrows in NFL and college circles. It appears the mutual interest is real, however, as ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday that talks between Belichick and UNC remain ongoing.
Belichick has never coached at the college level and turns 73 in April, so this would be hard pivot for a coach who spent nearly 50 years in the NFL. So, what might be motivating Belichick to pursue the UNC job? Former Patriots quarterback and Patriots radio analyst Scott Zolak shared what he's hearing about the situation Monday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand radio show.
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“I reached out to two people that I do trust that know Bill a hell of a lot more than I know Bill," Zolak said. "(Rob) Gronkowski joked (Sunday on FOX's NFL pregame show), ‘Could you imagine him doing all the NIL stuff?’ Yes.
"That is the one thing – and I was told this: as maniacal as Tom Brady is in how he researches things before he gets into it, Bill is 500 times that. (I was told) that this thing has been studied, that he has done his homework, that he has talked to friends in it, friends out of it."
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According to Zolak, Belichick has done extensive research on what it would take to be a college head coach, including navigating the sport's new NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) landscape that allows programs to indirectly pay players through sponsorships.
"He's got the biggest guy to rely on in Nick Saban," Zolak said of Belichick. "That's why (Saban) is not doing it anymore, because he can't do the NIL; he didn't want to.
"Bill would attack this differently. Bill would never recruit. Remember, Deion Sanders doesn't recruit. It’s all NIL now. It’s, what kind of backing do you have? And if you go out and organize a team and put a team together and pay guys to come -- it's almost like NFL Jr. where you're paying guys and now they're yours."
The Guardian's Ollie Connolly recently reported that Belichick would look to hire longtime former assistant Matt Patricia if he landed the UNC job, while also seeking a guarantee that his son, Steve Belichick -- who currently is the University of Washington defensive coordinator -- would be his "head coach in waiting." Zolak suggested he could see Patricia becoming Belichick's de facto "general manager" at the college level.
"(If) you have a good NIL guy and you believe that you have a good ‘capologist’ (like) Matt Patricia -- I don't know if Patricia would be defense or he would run sort of the GM part of UNC and stay there when Steve (Belichick) would take over," Zolak said. "And why wouldn't you set up your family? I think it's brilliant. Like, that whole part of it: Set your kid up for life. That’s what dads do."
Whether UNC would be on board with such an arrangement remains unclear, and The MMQB's Albert Breer recently reported that Belichick's preference still is to coach in the NFL. Either way, we might have a resolution soon: Zolak pointed out that college football's transfer portal opened Monday, which could motivate UNC to find its new head coach as soon as possible.
"I was told this today too: The portal opens today," Zolak added. "Critical day today. So, Carolina supposedly went to Manhattan to meet with him, because he was at the gala with his girlfriend. So, the second meeting has already taken place. This could be the drop-dead date. It could happen today."
Check out the video player above for more insight from Zolak on Belichick.