Bill Belichick was announced Wednesday as North Carolina’s next head coach in a surprising hire that will have implications for college football for years to come. But it appears the stunning move may have had less to do with Belichick’s desire to attend college football and more to do with his frustration at the pro level.
Part of Belichick’s college programs was that he was “disgusted” with what the NFL had become, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reported Thursday. Belichick was frustrated with NFL owners who didn’t seem to buy into his approach; Another Belichick confidant told ESPN that he was “tired of the stupidity” in the league.
As a result, Belichick sees the college landscape as “more transactional and less relational,” according to ESPN. Wickersham wrote that Belichick’s choice to leave the league is “a big f*** for you NFL,” in the words of a confidant.
Multiple executives told Yahoo Sports’ Jory Epstein on Wednesday that Belichick knew which NFL teams were willing to consider him and how much they would be willing to pay, and that he decided to try something new instead of making another hire. cycle
To Epstein, the UNC program offers Belichick a new framework to try, one where he can build a program in a new and potentially revolutionary way. Importantly, Belichick, who likes to have significant control over how things are done, will have no owner to answer to.
The hiring of Belichick to lead the Tar Heels led to some strong reactions from the sports world. Some believe that the move is brilliant; Others fear (or perhaps hope) that it will be a disaster. (For North Carolina, it seems worth the risk.)
With that being said, a Super Bowl-winning coach going to college isn’t entirely unprecedented. Belichick would be the second to switch from the pros after Bill Walsh; A total of nine Super Bowl-winning coaches have coached in college at some point in their careers.
