Bill Belichick to North Carolina gets massive update | Sporting News

Is it really happening? It certainly looks like it. Bill Belichick appears to be on the verge of setting up shop in Chapel Hill as the next head coach of the North Carolina football team.

According to Inside Carolina, UNC is reportedly finalizing a deal to bring in Belichick to replace Mack Brown.

If this move transpires, it would be nothing short of monumental in the ever-changing landscape of college football. Belichick’s potential hiring would not just be another headline—it would be a seismic shift for the sport.

College football has evolved into a full-fledged professional entity, fueled by NIL deals, potential revenue sharing, and more. This unprecedented shift may be precisely why the 72-year-old Belichick is turning his attention to the college ranks after reportedly feeling overlooked by the NFL this offseason.

“If this is accurate,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger wrote, “it is perhaps the most significant sign yet of the evolution of college athletics from an amateurism model to a professionalized entity.”

If this is accurate, it is perhaps the most significant sign yet of the evolution of college athletics from an amateurism model to a professionalized entity. https://t.co/0JdIpMjRAY

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 11, 2024

For Belichick to leave a storied NFL career—including multiple Super Bowl championships—to join an ACC program that hasn’t won a conference title since 1980, much less competed for a national championship, is unprecedented.

Sure, other NFL coaches have returned to college before—Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, Bobby Petrino, Steve Spurrier—but none have done so with Belichick’s pedigree or stature.

Belichick’s decision could shake the foundation of college football as we know it, bringing even more legitimacy and attention to a sport that is rapidly closing the gap with its professional counterpart. The potential ripple effects of this hire might be felt for years to come.