NFL Rumors: Bill Belichick Has 'Done a Lot of Research' on CFB Coaching amid UNC Buzz

On Thursday, North Carolina reportedly interviewed Bill Belichick for its head-coaching vacancy after firing Mack Brown, per Grant Hughes of 247Sports.

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed that report, with Rapoport noting that Belichick is "not ruling out college" despite his successful NFL coaching career. Per that report, the college game is something Belichick is "fairly serious" about and he's done "a lot of research, has talked to a lot of people in college football, a lot of his friends, about what college football is like."

In September, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Belichick "would like to return to coaching in 2025, but only in the right situations with good jobs," adding that he had offers ahead of the 2024 season to serve as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams but turned them down.

He also interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons head-coaching position last offseason before the Falcons hired Raheem Morris.

Pelissero noted Thursday that "when you look at the landscape of the jobs that are available right now across the NFL, I would fairly tell you that if [Belichick] is going to be coaching somewhere in the league in 2025, it's a job that is not yet open."

Thus far this season, the New York Jets fired Robert Saleh, the New Orleans Saints fired Dennis Allen and the Chicago Bears fired Matt Eberflus. Other openings will inevitably come open, with head coaches like Doug Pederson in Jacksonville, Mike McCarthy in Dallas, Brian Daboll in New York and Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas, among others, on the hot seat.

As for North Carolina, hiring Belichick would be about the most high-profile move the Tar Heels could make, though there remain plenty of questions about how Belichick would fare in the college game from a recruiting and developmental standpoint.

There's no doubting Belichick's pedigree from a football knowledge and tactical standpoint. But dealing with far younger players, the realities of the NIL age and the greater talent disparities in the college game are entirely different beasts. Is that a world the 72-year-old Belichick wants to learn for the first time?

Perhaps. But it still feels more likely that if the right NFL opportunity comes along, it would ultimately be his preference.