Report: Bill Belichick Said Breaking Shula's NFL HC Wins Record Wasn't 'Essential'

Bill Belichick is just 14 wins behind Don Shula's all-time NFL record of 347, but he isn't going to close that gap in the immediate future after North Carolina announced Wednesday it hired him as its next head coach.

However, that record reportedly wasn't the only thing driving Belichick's decision-making process as he looked for his next job.

"He told confidants that Shula's record mattered to him, but it wasn't the essential thing," ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported Thursday. "It wasn't why he has worked hours that have come with a steep personal price. He has always competed as if his self-worth was tied to the result. Losses took on a life of their own.

"Imagine the throttled rage inside him all spring after a group of men who routinely botch their most important hire not only mostly ignored him but gloated about it, telling ESPN that he was 'voted off the island.' He never forgets. Belichick knew that he'd have to compromise if he got another NFL job, maybe even more than the year before, and also knew that he faced a league that was skeptical of him."

This update comes after ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported there was a "sense" around the league that Belichick wasn't going to generate much interest from NFL teams looking for a new coach this offseason.

Nobody hired him last offseason after he and the New England Patriots parted ways, and he instead took the opportunity to move to the college game rather than wait around and see what develops at the NFL level.

Still, this was a shocking development.

He is arguably the best coach in football history with a resume that includes nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi Trophies. He helped orchestrate maybe the best dynasty in NFL history alongside Tom Brady and will provide instant name recognition to a North Carolina team that has often been overshadowed by the basketball program.

And there is something to be said about the level of control he will have at the college game.

"I'll go be the highest draw in college football, and will have the greatest coach in the ACC, instead of you guys who don't want [him] anymore because there are people who don't deserve to be empowered," a source familiar with his thinking told Wickersham. "... Everyone is running away from college football. I think Bill thinks this landscape is better for him. ... More transactional and less relational. In his mind, this is better for me."

Perhaps the biggest question is how Belichick will handle the challenges that are unique to college football that he did not deal with in the NFL.

Those include recruiting high school prospects, as well as his own players and other stars across the country with the presence of the transfer portal. Yet recruiting in the modern-day age of college football is different than it once was, as money and roster management now play a significant role with name, image and likeness opportunities.

There is overlap to the job of an NFL general manager given the money factor, and that is something Belichick is familiar with from his time on the Patriots.

North Carolina will be appointment viewing with the legendary coach leading the way, and he now has a chance to add to his legacy with success at a different level even if he may never catch Shula in the NFL.