Dec 11, 2024, 05:28 PM ET
In a stunning move, six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick has been named the new head coach at North Carolina. Belichick, 72, worked in the NFL in some capacity from 1975 until his divorce from the New England Patriots after the 2023 season. This will be his first college coaching job.
Belichick’s hiring at North Carolina, which hasn’t won an ACC football title since 1980, was spearheaded by board chair John P. Preyer, who had homed in on Belichick in recent weeks. The sides met multiple times at length, including for five hours Sunday, and those talks culminated with Belichick finalizing the deal Wednesday.
Belichick’s father, Steve, served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953 to 1955. “I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times,” Belichick said as part of a release announcing the move. “I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.”
Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who also was an assistant under Belichick with the Patriots from 2014 to 2016, will serve as the general manager of the Tar Heels program. The Patriots’ six Super Bowls under Belichick are an NFL record.
Belichick enters college football with 333 NFL wins, behind only Don Shula’s record of 347. North Carolina fired coach Mack Brown on Nov. 26 after a 6-6 season, ending his second stint at the school with a 44-33 record over six years.
Belichick’s hiring represents a significant shift from Brown’s syrupy Southern charm. Belichick has spent his year away from the sideline doing multiple media jobs while making it clear he wanted to return to coaching. He explored multiple NFL positions last year following his departure from New England, but sources told ESPN that a return to coaching in general had been paramount for Belichick.
Belichick has built up a reserve of college coach confidants through the NFL draft every year and has popped up at places such as Washington, Rutgers and LSU this year for college games. He made it clear in his interview with Pat McAfee on Monday that he would create an incubator for NFL talent if he were a college coach.
A news conference to introduce Belichick is set for Thursday, 2 p.m. ET.