UNC Coaching Search: Bill Belichick Intertwined with Tar Heels’ Football Opening After Mack Brown’s Exit
One of the NFL’s most legendary coaches is contemplating a shift to college football. Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at North Carolina this week, as first reported by Inside Carolina on Thursday. He’s part of a pool of candidates that the Tar Heels have engaged with since firing Mack Brown on November 26. According to Inside Carolina, this group also includes Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, among others. The initial contact between Belichick and UNC officials was first reported on Sunday.
ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned in September that Belichick was considering a return to coaching in 2025 but “is expected to be choosy if and when he returns to the sideline.” He reportedly declined offers from the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams for defensive coordinator roles this past offseason, which were described as “decorated assistant roles.” The report from Inside Carolina marks the first confirmed interest from Belichick in a college football position.
Belichick and the New England Patriots mutually agreed to part ways on January 11, 2024, following a disappointing 4-13 season, the worst record in his 24 years with the team. Shortly afterward, he interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their head coaching role, which ultimately went to Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Over the past year, Belichick has taken on various roles in sports media, including participating in “The Pat McAfee Show” during NFL draft coverage and appearing weekly during the NFL season. Additionally, he has joined the “ManningCast” during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcasts and served as an analyst on The CW Network’s “Inside the NFL.”
Currently, UNC is one of four job openings at the Power Five level, alongside UCF, West Virginia, and Purdue. CBS Sports ranked UNC as the top opening in college football. Following Brown’s departure, the program has entered an interim phase as athletics director Bubba Cunningham intensifies the search for the next Tar Heels football coach. On Monday, the school released an in-house studio interview with Cunningham, where he outlined the search process and his approach to hiring a new coach.
“We have an advisory group that’s helping us sift through candidates,” Cunningham stated. He added, “We’ve had a tremendous response of people across the country, agents calling us, coaches, people calling on behalf of others in the industry. We are very optimistic about where we are; the interest in our program is just extraordinary, and we’ll get a great coach to lead us. Who can lead us in the next three, five, 10 years? We need somebody that can come in and take us from good to great.”
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