North Carolina made the decision to move on from Mack Brown at the end of the season, and the Tar Heels are reportedly moving on with an NFL legend.
According to a report by Adam Smith of InsideCarolina, North Carolina is finalizing a contract to hire former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as its next head coach.
It’s a massive move in the college football landscape, landing a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach who hasn’t coached at the college level in his career.
Belichick, 72, spent 24 years as the head coach of the Patriots (2000-23) and five years as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns (1991-95) before that. He compiled a 266-121 record in New England, winning 30 playoff games and six Super Bowls in nine appearances.
While he hasn’t coached at the collegiate level, he’s regarded as one of the greatest football coaches of all time, if not the greatest.
Of course, he’s less than a year younger than Brown (who was the oldest coach in college football) and he’s new at this level of coaching. His name, NFL experience and the UNC brand will likely be an appeal to prospective recruits.
North Carolina is coming off a 6-6 (3-5 ACC) season in which the Tar Heels struggled — including a 34-24 loss to the Panthers in which Eli Holstein threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Brown’s second tenure at UNC had some highs (and good quarterbacks), but the Heels were unable to get back to the heights reached during his first tenure.
It’s still uncertain whether Belichick will be able to push the Tar Heels to the next level either.
Pitt isn’t slated to play North Carolina again until the 2026 season.
