Bill Belichick confirms North Carolina talks: "We'll see"

Bill Belichick confirmed that he and North Carolina are talking about the head football coach vacancy, and offered his thoughts on where modern college football is going.

Bill Belichick is interested in the North Carolina job, and in transforming college football in the process. / Bob Breidenbach / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bill Belichick appears to have done a lot of homework on what it takes to be a head coach in college football as he considers taking the North Carolina position, in comments the eight-time Super Bowl champion made to The Pat McAfee Show.

Belichick confirmed that he has spoken with North Carolina about its head coaching vacancy on multiple occasions, and that he is considering the job.

“We’ve had a couple of good conversations,” Belichick told McAfee. “So we’ll see how it goes.”

Bill Belichick emphasized "IF" he was coaching in a college program, it would be "a professional program." 👀 @PatMcAfeeShow

"The college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that have the ability to play in the NFL." pic.twitter.com/p2raPzm2DN

— ESPN (@espn) December 9, 2024

Belichick noted that college football is starting to look more like pro football in the modern era, as the sport embraces NIL, a transfer portal that is effectively a free agency period, and a future revenue-sharing model the NCAA is expected to implement in the near future.

“A lot of colleges are looking at NFL-type models to structure personnel and coaching,” Belichick said of the changes. 

“The job is obviously too big for one person,” he added. “You need a general manager, a coach, and a salary cap manager.”

Major college football programs are hiring general managers to run their programs in the new climate, including a notable $2.5 million investment Alabama made in Courtney Morgan for that position.

Former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck recently inked a deal to become the general manager of his alma mater, too.

Belichick said that a college football program under his leadership would operate like a training academy for players to learn what it takes to succeed in the NFL.

“It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for [the NFL],” he said.

So, will we see Belichick on the North Carolina sideline?

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll see.”

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