Bill Belichick may not have to wait until the NFL offseason to land his next head coaching gig.
The legendary New England Patriots coach recently interviewed for the University of North Carolina's vacant head coach position and, according to reports, is serious in his pursuit of the role. It's a massive surprise, especially given that there will be a handful of NFL openings and Belichick is only 15 wins away from tying Don Shula's all-time record.
Nonetheless, Belichick could soon take his talents to Chapel Hill. On Tuesday's Early Edition, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shed light on why the UNC job appeals to the 72-year-old while adding that he could be hired sooner than later.
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"Number one, I think he was pretty stunned by the lack of interest from across the league last year," Breer told Early Edition host Trenni Casey and Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. "Number two, he's looking at the (NFL) jobs that are open now, maybe thinking to himself, 'I don't know if I'd like any of those.' And then it's, 'OK, well, how many more are gonna come open?' And sort of recognizing that there might not be one that comes available in a month's time that he is really willing to go and take.
"And so if North Carolina is willing to jump through all the hoops that he wants them to jump through -- he studied the college game and I think he believes he could probably put together a winner faster at the college level now because of NIL and the transfer portal if the resources are in place than he could at the NFL level. So, there are still some things to be worked out, but I think it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be North Carolina's coach -- or maybe not -- by the end of the night."
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Breer explained why Belichick and UNC may want to get their deal done as soon as possible.
"The transfer portal, it's a big game of musical chairs," he added. "Players can't sit out there and wait for a week or two weeks. Like, there are limited spots across the country for these guys who are third- and fourth- and fifth-year players looking for opportunities to go prove themselves to get shots in the NFL eventually.
"The longer that this drags on, the more of those players come off the board. And I do think that if Bill went to North Carolina, a heavy part of his strategy would be to build a veteran team through the transfer portal."
NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran stated that there is a "better than 50-50 chance" that Belichick takes the UNC job. Callahan asked Breer to share his opinion on whether Belichick will don Carolina blue.
"Yes, he is the next head coach of North Carolina," Breer predicted. "My understanding is he already has an idea who will come with him. So I'm gonna say yes, but the negotiation I think is still at a tenuous spot, and we'll see what they come up with money-wise."
Belichick has never led a team at the collegiate level, so UNC would represent an entirely new challenge for the six-time Super Bowl champion. While it's a head-scratcher, there's little doubt Belichick would bring plenty of intrigue to a football program that has taken a backseat to basketball throughout its history.
