New Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick will not attend the Fenway Bowl

BOSTON – New UNC football coach Bill Belichick will not be back in the state he has called home for the past two decades, as school officials told ESPN he is not expected to attend the Fenway Bowl on Saturday morning.

Belichick’s new program will close the final chapter of its 2024 season when the Tar Heels (6-6) will host UConn (8-4) at Fenway Park on ESPN at 7 p.m. 11. Even with Belichick not present at the Fenway Bowl media day on Friday, his presence felt.

“I think it’s been really exciting,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham told ESPN. “People are excited about the future. We’ve talked about how college sports is really changing. The idea of ​​having Bill and someone with his background in professional sports is something we’re all excited about. This is where we’re headed and it’s good to be an early adopter.”

UNC linebacker Amare Campbell said Belichick hasn’t been to UNC bowl practice. Cunningham said it has been in line with the same reason he won’t be at the bowl game — Belichick doesn’t want to be a distraction.

“He’s all about building the roster,” Cunningham said. “He didn’t want to go to practice or be a distraction to the kids or the coaches at the bowl game.”

He added, “It’s been great. He and Mike Lombardi have locked themselves in a room and really spent all that time since he was announced building the roster for this spring and next year.”

Campbell entered the portal and then returned to UNC after being pitched by Belichick. He had 72 tackles and 10.5 TFLs for UNC in 2024 and won the team’s defensive MVP honors. He had received interest from SMU, Colorado and Michigan, he said, but stayed because of the plan Belichick laid out for him in a phone conversation.

“I knew how he wanted to develop me and we wanted to compete at a high level,” Campbell said.

He added of the recruiting process: “You know how he is, he’s monotonous. He’s kind of got a robotic voice. He was like, ‘We’re going to compete, we’re going to get better. We’re going to work every day.’ And that’s been my mindset since I was growing up, so it’s something I can really stand behind and I trust him as a coach.

With interim coach Freddie Kitchens, who will be part of Belichick’s staff representing UNC on Friday, the coach and players presented a generally consistent message of “be where your feet are” to stay locked into the game. He said he talks to Belichick every day, but he doesn’t want any input into the game.

UNC is looking to avoid its first losing season since 2021, and UConn is looking for the school’s first nine-win season since 2007. Even the 2010 Fiesta Bowl team won just eight games.

Mora had perhaps the most insight into what Belichick faces, having coached the Falcons and Seahawks before taking the UCLA head job in 2012. He said Belichick’s biggest challenge will be dealing with a different age group, like college players . need their coaches in different ways.

“If he just gets access to that fatherly side of him, he’s going to do well, and he gets (his son) Steve to come in (as defensive coordinator) and I think that builds that family atmosphere,” Mora said . “Bill is a professional and he’s incredibly skilled and he’ll adapt just fine. And football is football, he’s a master at it. I just have a feeling, I just have a feeling that he’s going to fall in love with (college football). ) as I did.”