From rumors, to a finalized deal, to a press conference, the last 24 hours for the North Carolina Tar Heels have been a whirlwind as legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick will now lead a college football program for the first time in his illustrious career.
Belichick sat in front of the media during his introductory press conference as the new head coach for the Tar Heels – an idea no college football fan would've fathomed until rumors began to swirl last week about his interest in running the program.
It was always thought that Belichick, who is 27 wins away from becoming the head coach with the most victories in NFL history, would return to the pros if he wished to continue coaching.
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But the 72-year-old explained on Thursday afternoon why he chose to go the college route.
"I’ve always wanted to coach in college football," Belichick said. "It just never really worked out. Had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK. But this is really a dream come true."
BILL BELICHICK AGREES TO BECOME UNC'S NEXT HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
Belichick is obviously being modest by saying his time in the NFL was just "good."
Before the Kansas City Chiefs, he developed the New England Patriots into a dynasty, winning six Super Bowls and racking up wins that brought about the argument of greatest NFL head coach of all time.
College football, though, is a completely different beast, especially in this new NIL world. But these aren't waters Belichick just wants to dip his toes in – he's diving straight in and not looking to get out.
"I didn't come here to leave," he said, dispelling thoughts for now that he's just trying to coach again before that next NFL opportunity opens up.
Belichick did say that, while the process may be different, the pros and college do have "a lot of parallels." It's why Michael Lombardi is coming in as the team's general manager, someone who knows how Belichick functions given their time together in New England.
"I think that's the reason for the general structure with Michael as the general manager and myself as the coach and working collaboratively as we have done in a professional structure," Belichick explained.
For this big leap to be successful, Belichick knows he just needs to take things one day at a time. That starts with putting together his coaching staff, which he has already touched on with Freddie Kitchens coming aboard. More announcements should be made in the coming weeks.
Recruiting, not drafting, will also be interesting to watch with Belichick, but reports have indicated his wish for UNC to have the proper NIL resources to land top talent to make the program competitive.
As someone who was around the program as a kid – his father, Steve Belichick, coached with the Tar Heels in the 1950s – he understands what it means to be successful in Chapel Hill.
"There's a lot of pride in this program, and I want to do everything I can to help take it to the highest level," he said.
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