Bill Belichick will not attend UNC’s bowl game at Fenway Park

On By Littum

Bill Belichick introduced as UNC head football coach


Bill Belichick introduced as UNC head football coach

03:32

BOSTON – It was only fitting that Bill Belichick’s new team – the North Carolina Tar Heels – played a bowl game at Fenway Park when the future Hall of Famer was set to take over the program. Belichick could have returned to the region where he won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and saw his new team in a historic setting.

Alas, Belichick won’t be around when the Tar Heels play the UConn Huskies in the Fenway Bowl on Saturday, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The new UNC head coach has a good reason, too, according to North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham.

Why doesn’t Bill Belichick attend the Fenway Bowl?

Belichick has worked hard to build the North Carolina program since he was introduced as new head coach on December 12. But Belichick and general manager Mike Lombardi have done it behind the scenes and not in the public eye.

Belichick did not attend the Tar Heels’ practice ahead of Saturday’s game because he did not want to be a distraction for the team. He jumps out at the Fenway Bowl for the same reason, according to Cunningham.

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

Belichick would certainly be a distraction at Fenway Park, as it would have been his first public appearance in the New England area since he and the Patriots parted ways last January. Belichick spent 24 seasons as the head coach of the Patriots, leading the franchise to an unparalleled level of success, winning six Super Bowl titles and 296 total games.

Now he’s looking to build a winning program in North Carolina.

“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,” Cunningham added.

Interim coach Freddie Kitchens will be on the sideline for the Tar Heels on Saturday, and is set to join Belichick’s staff permanently after the game.