Bill Belichick finalizes deal to become UNC’s next football coach: reports

Look out Chapel Hill, Bill Belichick is coming.

Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels have reportedly finalized a deal for the 72-year-old to become their next football coach, according to ESPN.

The Athletic reports that UNC will give Belichick a three-year deal worth $30 million.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach remained interested in returning to the sidelines at some point in the future, but he was always expected to return to the NFL after missing out on another gig following his departure from New England Patriots before this season. After all, Belichick had been in the league in one capacity or another since 1975 prior to this season.

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FILE – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick turns the whistle during an NFL football practice, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

But earlier this week, The Guardian US reported that Belichick agreed to become the new head coach at Chapel Hill, adding that Belichick handed the school a 400-page “organizational bible” of structure, pay plans, personnel selections, etc.

So, ESPN reported both sides were close to reaching an agreement on Wednesday, with some issues still to be resolved.

OutKick’s Trey Wallace reported that the final hurdle was NIL money negotiation, and if that was resolved, an emergency meeting would be called to finalize the deal. It’s done now and the final step is waiting for word that it’s official.

Among the boxes to be checked was reportedly an unusual request from Belichick, as he wants his son, Stephen Belichick, who serves as Washington’s defensive coordinator, to become his coach and will step in when his father decides to leave the program.

This will mark Belichick’s first stint as a college football coach. His father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime assistant coach at Navy. But he did have a stint in the 1950s with the Tar Heels.

Belichick has spent much of the current NFL season in the media spotlight after his interviews for NFL jobs did not lead to a job offer.

While he interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons in January, the franchise opted out of extending an offer. Belichick didn’t seem to attract much interest from any other NFL teams, but his regular appearances on ESPN’s “ManningCast” and the CW’s “Inside the NFL” have kept him close to football.

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier this week, Belichick confirmed that he had conversations with UNC about their head coaching vacancy, adding that he used the 11 months since his departure from the Patriots to take a “longer look ” on college football through and through. the season as opposed to in the spring run-up to the draft as a professional coach.

“So it’s been, it’s been a good year for me. I’ve learned a lot,” Belichick said. “So I’ve had a chance to talk to Chancellor (Lee) Roberts and we’ve had a couple of good conversations. So we’ll see how that goes.”

Belichick chose not to elaborate when asked by McAfee. Instead, Belichick offered a quip about his reputation for giving terse answers during press conferences with the Patriots.

“Yeah, let’s just leave it at that, Pat,” Belichick said with a laugh. “I mean, I don’t want to give too much information out. I want my press conference aura back.”

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick announces his retirement from the team during a news conference at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on January 11, 2024. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Belichick shared some details about the makeup of a college program if he were a head coach.

“If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for those players who had the ability to play in the NFL,” he said. “It would be a professional program — training, nutrition, plan, coaching and techniques that would carry over to the NFL.”

Belichick is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history. He finished the 2023 season with 333 career wins – which ranks him second on the all-time coaches’ hit list. Don Shula’s 347 wins still lead all coaches.