Bill Belichick's UNC Debut Gets Special Primetime Scheduling Slot From ESPN

Ryan Phillips | Jan 23, 2025

Bill Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick will open his college football coaching career in primetime.

Belichick's North Carolina squad will begin the 2025 season against TCU on Monday, September 1, and ESPN will broadcast the game at 7:30 p.m. ET. It will be a chance for the new-look Tar Heels to show what improvements their legendary coach has made since agreeing to lead the program in December.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝟬 + 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝟭 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦

5 straight days of ACC Football coming Labor Day Weekend!

📰 https://t.co/gQzQvgiAAs
📺 Full Schedule: January 27 | 9 pm | ACC Network pic.twitter.com/vRr43j4jBG

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) January 23, 2025

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has been hard at work since arriving in Chapel Hill, filling out a coaching staff and recruiting from both the prep ranks and the transfer portal. Since beginning his coaching career as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Belichick has never coached at the college level, so there is likely to be a significant transition period.

Belichick spent 29 seasons as an NFL head coach, with 24 of those coming with the New England Patriots. In those years he led the Patriots to a 266-121 record, 17 AFC East titles and six Super Bowl victories. But college football is a completely different ballgame.

Luckily for the 72-year-old, both of his coordinators have college experience. Offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has had multiple stops as an assistant at the college level, while defensive coordinator, Stephen Belichick (Bill's son) spent the last year as the defensive coordinator at Washington.

We'll get to see the results in primetime early in the 2025 season.

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