We’re living in truly strange times in that, at the end of the week, Bill Belichick interviewing for the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina barely registered on our personal Richter scales. Here we have one of the most successful professional football coaches of all time and the architect of one of the sport’s great dynasties speaking to folks in Chapel Hill about, sure, the best opening in college football at the moment, but, you know … a job in one of the weaker Power 5 conferences at a time when most college football coaches would jump for any opportunity in the NFL so as not to have to deal with the annoyances of NIL and the transfer portal.
In conversations with a few bright minds within the coaching industry this week, I tried to nail down why exactly this happened and what it might mean. Here are a few theories:
• One is that this North Carolina search is being driven by some true big dreamers. We’ve already seen Arthur Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers come up as a person of interest for the job and Belichick would be an even larger, audience-drawing name and a trophy for the university. This makes sense when big-money boosters start getting a voice at the table. While Mack Brown was not an unknown, and he came to the school with a big-time staff and a great deal of hype, Belichick is one of the greatest coaches ever. He still wants to prove his mettle and, from what I understand, presented his plans for a full staff when he did his interview. Having a bought-in Belichick would provide a Deion Sanders–like injection of interest nationally.
• One is that Belichick may be wanting to arrive at the doorstep of the NFL carousel with a little bit of grease in the wheels. Some momentum. Sometimes becoming a hot candidate is as simple as creating the perception of heat. I’ll take the theory a step further with my own thoughts: I think certain hiring groups in the NFL would consider it a bonus that a university feels a 73-year-old Belichick can connect with its student athletes and student base. It’s probably a real question that lingers out there when it comes to Belichick. Is he relevant? As unbelievable as Bill Parcells was, there came a time when he may not have been so relevant or accessible to a player base. This interview could serve as a sign that Belichick is desired and that he is hip.
• The third one is interesting as well. As I noted in my annual list of future head coaches heading into the cycle, the industry is divided on whether Belichick is a slam dunk candidate. I have certainly heard reports from well-sourced reporters believing that Belichick is an obvious hire. But in talking to many industry regulars, my read is that there remains some skepticism, namely because only a handful of very specific teams would seem to be a fit for the legendary coach. And if he doesn’t get one of those small handful of jobs, is he left without a dance partner like he was in 2024?
So, could this interview have been a kind of admission on Belichick’s side that he’ll have to consider all options—both as a college and pro head coach—and to make that known to the football-hiring world? That would certainly widen the target for Belichick if his goal is to, at all costs, be a head coach next season.
I have Belichick listed as a top option on my 2024–25 carousel list. Right now, the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints are all theoretically open jobs. In mid-November, industry experts had expected there to be between seven to 10 openings.
Personally, I think Belichick still has plenty of juice. As hard as it is for some in the industry to wrap their heads around him coming back, I could pretty easily convince myself that Belichick works in a variety of places even if he may not be considered a top candidate. Chicago, for example, could benefit from Belichick’s experience, clock management and situational knowledge. And Caleb Williams alongside Josh McDaniels would not seem as bizarre a pairing as one might think at first glance. McDaniels, when with Belichick, has produced a handful of quick-release passers who minimize turnover issues. Even Mac Jones had a good rookie season. Williams has said repeatedly that he does not want to be this perpetually on the move quarterback and that he would like to play more efficiently from the pocket. Maybe that mutual pairing would provide some needed guardrails for the 2024 No. 1 pick. That said, I did not have Belichick on my short list for the Bears that I wrote last week. I’m merely saying that I personally think he has more versatility as a candidate than others. The link between him and the Jacksonville Jaguars has been whispered about since September.
We’re about a month away from finding out in earnest which of these theories is indeed the truth, or which one becomes the truth. All of them feel sensible and, depending on how the carousel ebbs and shifts in the coming weeks, we will see a clearer picture. For example, as clock management meltdowns continue to be more of a dissected issue with coaches who fail to use timeouts, miss scoring opportunities and blow last-second games, will Belichick’s stock rise? If Dan Campbell continues to roll into the playoffs with Kevin O’Connell, Matt LaFleur and the rest closely nipping at his heels, will Belichick’s stock continue to diminish as we realize the ultimate value in the hybrid former player/young offensive guru category?
At the moment, what we know for sure is that the Tar Heels and Belichick spoke about the third-winningest coach in NFL history. And that’s incredibly intriguing to me.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Theories on Why Bill Belichick Interviewed for the North Carolina Job.
