Deion Sanders: Bill Belichick Will Find Success More Easily in CFB Than in NFL

Colorado football head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is bullish on Bill Belichick's chances to excel with UNC, so much so that he thinks it'll be easier for the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach to find success in Chapel Hill than he did with the New England Patriots.

Sanders made his remarks on the Pacman Jones Show (h/t TMZ Sports).

"Bill Belichick is Bill Belichick," he said.

"The track record stands alone. No one in the NFL has accomplished what he's accomplished. Making that translate to college football, I feel like that's an easier role to come to college football and have success than it is to rekindle that fire he had in New England."

Sanders also made clear that he's a friend of Belichick.

"I love Coach Belichick, man," Sanders added. "I'm a fan and not only that, I like to be known as a friend of Coach Belichick. I love what he's doing, I'm happy about it."

Sanders has found his own success at Colorado, turning a 1-11 program the year before his arrival into a 9-3 team that's 20th in the Associated Press poll.

Belichick, of course, also found great success in the NFL, winning two Super Bowls as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator in 1986 and 1990 before adding six more as the Patriots' head coach (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018).

After a year away from coaching, Belichick is embarking on a brand-new challenge. He's joining UNC on a five-year deal ($10 million per season). It's a stark transition for someone who coached in the NFL ranks in various capacities from 1975-2023.

Belichick did grow up watching his father, Steve Belichick, coach and scout at Navy for nearly his entire childhood. The elder Belichick also coached at UNC from 1953-1955.

Now his son is back there seven decades later, hoping to become the fourth head coach in football history to win an NCAA championship and Super Bowl alongside Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll.