Bill Belichick Rumors: HC 'Hadn't Garnered Much NFL Interest' Before UNC Contract
Bill Belichick stunned the football world when he reportedly chose to become the next head coach of North Carolina, but he may not have had many competing offers waiting for him in the NFL.
"The sense from NFL owners meetings is that Bill Belichick simply hadn't garnered much NFL interest if at all this cycle," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday. "Perhaps that would have changed, but Belichick goes with the sure thing—and a fascinating new start."
Fowler's report came after ESPN's Adam Schefter, Pete Thamel and Chris Low reported the legendary coach was "finalizing a deal" with the Tar Heels.
According to Ralph D. Russo and Brendan Marks of The Athletic, that deal will be worth $30 million across three years.
Had Belichick not taken the job with the Tar Heels, this may have ended up being the second straight offseason where he was unable to land a position in the NFL.
After all, no other NFL team hired him last offseason after he and the New England Patriots went their separate ways following the 2023 campaign. He may be arguably the best coach in league history, but he went 4-13 in his final year with the Patriots and finished with a losing record in three of his last four seasons.
Perhaps that, along with his age (72), tempered enthusiasm from NFL teams looking to make a coaching change.
Still, he has been to nine Super Bowls with six Lombardi Trophies on his resume. His 333 combined regular-season and playoff wins are the second-best mark of all-time and only 14 victories behind Don Shula's record.
Yet a run at that record will have to wait, as Belichick will be a head coach at the collegiate level for the first time in his career.
That means he will have to navigate a number of different challenges he never had to deal with in the NFL, including recruiting, the transfer portal, NIL opportunities and even his players balancing the classroom with time dedicated to football.
And North Carolina is not exactly a powerhouse program with one double-digit win season since 1997 and its last ACC title coming back in 1980.
If he finds success with this endeavor, it will only add to his already legendary resume.
