After more than 50 years of coaching in the NFL, Bill Belichick is headed to the college ranks for the first time after making the decision to take the coaching job at North Carolina on Wednesday.
One of the biggest reasons that Belichick decided to take the UNC job is because he wasn't drawing any interest around the NFL, but he was definitely looking. According to ESPN.com, Belichick had been holding weekly Zoom meetings with several of his former assistants, including Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels.
When the group got together, they would break down each week's NFL games while keeping an eye on the jobs that were coming open. According to the report from ESPN, Belichick's group thought the Chicago Bears job was probably the most attractive opening, but Belichick didn't think he had a chance to land it. The group's expectation is that the Bears will likely try to hire an offensive-minded coach to pair with Caleb Williams.
The New York Jets and New Orleans Saints also have openings, but the group apparently didn't view either of those spots as a good fit, especially the Jets, considering Belichick's acrimonious relationship with the team (Belichick ripped owner Woody Johnson in October and also once resigned as Jets coach after less than 24 hours with the team).
This Day In 2000: Bill Belichick is the new coach of the New York Jets.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 3, 2022
A day later, he steps down, writing on a napkin “I resign as HC of the NYJ.”
24 days later, he is announced as head coach of the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/PSmaZ9AI4H
Of course, even if Belichick wanted those jobs, none of the teams seemed interested in hiring him. As noted in the lead-up to Week 14, Belichick was "very surprised" that no NFL team had called him about a possible job yet. During the 2024 offseason, the Falcons were the only team that interviewed Belichick for their job opening.
Besides the Jets, Bears and Saints, there are other jobs that could come open in the next few weeks with the Cowboys and Jaguars both being possibilities, but Belichick clearly didn't want to to wait around to see if anyone might be interested in hiring him.
With Belichick now leaving for UNC, the biggest upside for him in the NFL is that he'll now be eligible to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026. If Belichick has success at UNC, he could also eventually look to return to the NFL. Although that won't be easy considering his age, the 72-year-old is just 15 wins away from breaking Don Shula's all-time NFL record for most coaching regular-season victories and you have to think he'd love to break that before he hangs up his coaching whistle for good.
