How do Bill Belichick’s chances stack up against past coaches?

Bill Belichick made national headlines when it was announced he would be the next head coach at North Carolina on Dec. 11, 2024.

Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history, having won seven Lombardi Trophies while leading the New England Patriots. After not coaching last season, it was expected he would land a new gig. However, no one anticipated it would be in college football—let alone in Chapel Hill.

It’s not the first time a former NFL head coach has taken over a college program. There have been several examples throughout the years, though history shows more failures than successes with such hires.

Yes, the coaches who took on those jobs did not have the resume that Belichick currently has while taking over North Carolina. However, history has shown that pro coaches transitioning to college coaches have been a mixed bag.

Belichick has the tools to succeed thanks to a supportive administration, an impressive coaching staff and an experienced roster that chose to play for the legendary coach to prepare for their ultimate goal: making the NFL.

Without further ado, here are five notable examples of NFL coaches who made the jump to college football.

Pete Carroll (New York Jets, New England Patriots → USC)

People often forget Pete Carroll was fired by both the New York Jets and New England Patriots before landing the USC job in 2001. His last college job had been at Pacific in 1983, making his return to the collegiate ranks both surprising and controversial—especially after a 6-6 debut season.

But Carroll quickly silenced doubters as USC became the team of the 2000s. From 2002 to 2008, USC won at least 11 games each year, claimed seven straight Pac-10 titles, won two national championships and produced three Heisman Trophy winners: Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004) and Reggie Bush (2005).

He left USC after the conclusion of the 2009 season amid NCAA sanctions and later won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks. Despite the anticlimactic end to his tenure at USC, Carroll remains the most successful coach to make the transition from the NFL to college football.

Bill Callahan (Oakland Raiders → Nebraska)
The Bill Callahan era is widely viewed as the end of Nebraska’s dominance in college football. After leading the Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002, Callahan was fired the following year and hired by Nebraska to modernize its run-heavy, option-based program. From 1971 to 1997, the Huskers had won five national championships—but change was in the air after Frank Solich’s controversial firing.

Callahan’s first season in 2004 ended with a 5-6 record—the program’s first losing season since 1961—and included a humiliating 70-10 loss to Texas Tech. Though Nebraska posted back-to-back winning seasons and reached the Big 12 title game in 2006, the defense collapsed in 2007. The Huskers went 5-7, ranked 115th nationally in total defense and gave up 40 or more points in seven games. A 76-39 loss to Kansas, in which Nebraska allowed 572 yards, became the defining low point of Callahan’s tenure in Lincoln.

Lane Kiffin (Oakland Raiders → Tennessee, USC, Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss)

Lane Kiffin’s two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders is largely forgettable—so much so that it could stump your friends in a sports trivia game. Despite Kiffin’s lack of head coaching experience, Raiders owner Al Davis made the shocking decision to hire the 32-year-old offensive play-caller away from USC, a move still considered rare today.

After being fired by Oakland, Kiffin landed at Tennessee in 2009. He went 7-6 in his lone season in Knoxville before replacing his former boss, Pete Carroll, at USC. Kiffin posted a 28-15 record in four seasons and was famously fired at Los Angeles International Airport following a 62-41 loss to Arizona State in 2013.

Since then, Kiffin has rebuilt his reputation. After serving as offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2014 to 2016, he became head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2017 to 2019, leading the Owls to Conference USA titles in 2017 and 2019.

He then took over at Ole Miss in 2020, guiding the Rebels to three 10-win seasons in five years—their best stretch since the early 1960s.

Herm Edwards (New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs → Arizona State)

Nobody saw it coming in 2018: Herm Edwards, the former head coach of the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, ended a 10-year hiatus from coaching to return to the sidelines. Leaving his comfortable role as an NFL analyst at ESPN, Edwards was hired as Arizona State’s head

The Sun Devils posted back-to-back winning seasons and pulled off several upsets in the first two seasons of the Edwards’ era, including a 2019 win over No. 6 Oregon that effectively knocked the Ducks out of playoff contention.

But even with future LSU star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback, the program plateaued. Amid mounting disappointment and NCAA recruiting violations, Edwards was fired after a 30-21 home loss to Eastern Michigan in 2022.

Jim Mora Jr. - Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks → UCLA, UCONN (64-50 overall; fired at UCLA, currently coaching at UCONN)

Despite two unsuccessful stints with both the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks, Mora has had some decent success at the collegiate ranks.

He had a solid run at UCLA, making UCLA from a joke to a legitimate threat in the Pac-12. His first three seasons were successful as they had consecutive 10-win seasons in 2014 and 2015 with the latter finishing with a Top 10 finish in both the AP and Coaches’ Poll, its first in 10 seasons.. winning record against Cal and USC—beating USC three straight times for the first time since the 1990s.

He then took over UConn in 2021, a program that had gone 12-50 from 2016 to 2021. Mora has guided the Huskies to two bowl games in three years and secured their first bowl win since 2009, ironically over North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl in 2024.

Other notable examples

Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers → Illinois (17-39, fired)

The last time he was in Illinois, he led the Chicago Bears to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. However, he had a losing season every year in the entirety of his tenure at the state’s flagship university.

Dave Wannstedt; Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins → Pittsburgh (42-31, resigned)

Wannstedt had a decent tenure at Pittsburgh, but he failed to meet expectations which ultimately led to his resignation.

Mike Sherman; Green Bay Packers → Texas A&M (25-25 overall record, fired)

It wasn’t as successful as his stint in Green Bay, but he recruited future Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans to Texas A&M.