‘Dream come true’: Belichick at home with UNC

• Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior WriterDec 12, 2024, 04:26 PM ET

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  • ACC reporter.
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
  • Graduate of the University of Florida.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Bill Belichick cracked a few jokes, held up an old UNC sweatshirt that belonged to his dad and vowed to bring a professional model to North Carolina in his introductory news conference Thursday as the Tar Heels’ new head coach.

Belichick was greeted with a standing ovation when he entered the room to speak to an overflow crowd of media and UNC supporters, including newly inducted College Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers.

In many ways it felt surreal — a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, a giant among coaches, sitting at a dais inside Kenan Memorial Stadium with Carolina blue seats just outside the suite doors.

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Belichick, who spent his entire career in the NFL, said he had always wanted to coach in college.

“It just never really worked out,” he said. “Had some good years in the NFL so that was OK, but this is a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad. As a kid all I knew was college football.”

His dad, Steve, served as an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953 to 1955. During his introductory comments, UNC chancellor Lee Roberts pulled out a copy from the 1954 North Carolina media guide and read an excerpt about Steve Belichick that ended with a line about his 2-year-old son, William Steven. “Coach, Welcome back to Carolina,” Roberts said.

He presented Belichick with a gray short-sleeved hoodie, his trademark look. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham then pulled out a suit jacket with the sleeves torn off, another ode to Belichick. At that point, Belichick said he had his own gear and pulled out a white hoodie that his dad had during his time at Carolina.

“You can tell I liked it,” Belichick said. “I’ve kept it a long time.

“It’s great to come back home to Carolina and back into the environment that I really grew up in. When you’re little, you don’t remember everything. I was too young to remember a lot of things at Carolina, but as I grew up, you hear the same story over and over and over again. One story I always heard was, ‘Billy’s first words were, ‘Beat Duke.'”

New North Carolina coach Bill Belichick holds up a sweatshirt that belonged to his father when he was on UNC’s staff from 1953 to 1955. “It’s great to come back home to Carolina and back into the environment that I really grew up in,” Belichick said. AP Photo/Ben McKeown

That line drew laughter and applause from the delighted supporters in the room. Belichick, 72, makes his first foray into college football after working in some capacity in the NFL from 1975 until he and the Patriots parted ways after the 2023 season.

He replaces Mack Brown, 73, the winningest coach in school history. Brown, who was fired after a 6-6 season, ended his second stint at the school with a 44-33 record over six years and 113-79-1 overall with the Tar Heels.

“It beats working,” Belichick said when asked why, at his age, he wanted to get back into coaching after a year off. “My dad told us, ‘When you love what you do, it’s not work.’ I love what I do. I love coaching. I love the interaction with the players. I love building a team, game planning, the game itself. Working with young kids, with the energy, enthusiasm — it’s great every day to come to that environment.”

He also was asked if he would head back to the NFL if he has immediate success in college.

“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said. “I feel like doing it a long time. I’m good to go.”

Belichick said Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who also was an assistant with the Patriots from 2014 to 2016, would serve as the general manager of the Tar Heels’ football program. He also said he will retain UNC interim coach Freddie Kitchens, the former Cleveland Browns head coach.

North Carolina has played football for 136 years, but its last ACC championship came in 1980. Football has largely taken a backseat to basketball, but bringing Belichick in represents a new era.

Though numbers were not disclosed, a significant investment in football is being made with his hire.

“In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘the future ain’t what it used to be,’ and we are embarking on an entirely new football operation,” athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. “We can’t wait to have CB leading the charge for us.”

Many of the questions Thursday revolved around how his NFL experience will now translate to a college football model that looks more like the NFL — with the transfer portal, NIL and upcoming revenue sharing that will serve as a salary cap.

Belichick said the head coach/general manager model he is bringing with him will help with the transformation of UNC into a professional organization.

“When I say a pro program, I would say through my experience, what we did in terms of training, developing players, running pro systems, pro techniques,” Belichick said. “So when the players leave here, this isn’t going from the wishbone to a pro offense. It will be similar terminology, similar techniques and fundamentals, similar training, similar preparation techniques that have been very successful for me through the years, whether other college teams use them or not. I mean, some are, some aren’t, but I just know that these will prepare the players for that.

“So the general manager, head coach model, it’s a similar type of situation for evaluating high school kids and college transfer portal players. NFL teams are evaluating college players and NFL free agent players. So again, there are some similarities.”

Belichick also said the time he spent around Washington, where his son, Steve served as defensive coordinator under Jedd Fisch has also prepared him for what is to come. He said Washington is modeled after a pro program, so that gave him ideas.

He also noted he fields many calls from coaches across conferences — from the Big Ten, ACC and SEC — over recent rules changes that moved the game more toward the NFL — from the 2-minute warning, to helmet-to-helmet communication and the use of tablets on the sideline.

As for recruiting, Belichick said he looked forward to convincing players to come to North Carolina and will recruit nationally.

“The recruiting process belongs to everyone,” he said. “Whatever helps our team, that’s what I want to do.”

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