Bill Belichick Rumors: UNC Interviews NFL Legend for HC Job After Mack Brown's Exit

Well, nobody can accuse North Carolina of thinking small if the latest rumor surrounding its football program is true.

According to a Thursday report from Inside Carolina (h/t Grant Hughes of 247Sports), legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick interviewed with the Tar Heels regarding their head coaching vacancy. The position is open after the ACC program fired Mack Brown last month.

The report noted North Carolina also spoke with Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport seemingly confirmed the report:

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports added that "most are skeptical that [Belichick] would seriously consider coaching in the college game, even with the landscape shifting toward an NFL style model."

An NFL executive told Schultz "that he believes Belichick is being strategic, using this to push NFL teams to act faster and to make it widely known that he plans to return in 2025."

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the 72-year-old is "open to both the NFL and college football" and isn't "ruling anything out."

While it wouldn't be a shock to see Belichick back in coaching in 2025, it would be surprising to see him take the North Carolina job.

After all, his most notable experience has all come in the NFL ranks as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants and New York Jets in addition to his time as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots.

Belichick's run as Patriots head coach is among the most successful in sports history, as he reached nine Super Bowls and won the Lombardi Trophy six times during his 24 seasons. He went 266-121 in that span and is widely considered one of the best coaches to ever be on the sidelines in the NFL.

While he will be 73 years old in April and had a losing record in three of his final four seasons with New England, he will surely generate plenty of interest from the professional level when more coaching vacancies present themselves.

Going to the college ranks in today's era of football would also mean juggling several things he is not accustomed to from his previous coaching stops.

In addition to the actual games, college coaches have to work around the clock on recruiting, searching the transfer portal, managing their roster in the hope of avoiding potential transfer departures and navigating the name, image and likeness era.

College coaches are paid quite handsomely for their work, but it would be a lot for Belichick to adjust to at this stage of his career.

North Carolina would also be something of a head-turning choice, as it is a solid program but nowhere near the blue-blood status it enjoys on the basketball court. It has won double-digit games just once since the 1997 season and went 6-6 in 2024.

Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in sports history, but this would be a rather unusual partnership at this stage.