The Bill Belichick era begins, marking a major shift for UNC football

Bill Belichick walked into Thursday’s press conference sporting a navy suit, a Carolina Blue button-up and an argyle tie. 

His attire matched the colors worn by the wall-to-wall gathering of other Tar Heel coaches and staff in the Blue Zone of the Loudermilk Center. Appearance wise, he fit right in. But this hire is anything but uniform for North Carolina. 

Rows and rows of journalists and TV cameras convened on Thursday afternoon for Belichick’s introductory press conference. As the faint jazz music filling the space quieted for his arrival, deafening applause followed. He stood behind his chair on the makeshift stage and scanned the room. 

“Big crowd,” Belichick remarked.  

He took his seat. The Belichick experiment began. 

On Wednesday night, North Carolina announced the hiring of the former New England Patriots head coach and six-time Super Bowl champion. Before joining the Patriots, Belichick won two Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. Belichick is the second-winningest coach in NFL history with a 333-178 record. He has never coached at the college level. 

Belichick is one of three UNC football head coaches with NFL coaching experience, joining the likes of Butch Davis (2007-2010) and John Bunting (2001-2006). He’s the first head coach for the Tar Heels without previous college coaching experience since the 40s. He’s only the second Super Bowl-winning coach in NCAA history to become a college head coach. 

“We’ve been playing football at Carolina since 1888,” chancellor Lee Roberts said. “I suspect that in those 136 years, there are few days that have been as auspicious as this one.”

Fifteen days passed between the firing of head coach Mack Brown and the announcement of his replacement. An awkward four days leading up to Brown’s final regular season game. Afterwards, 11 days of uncertainty and speculation surrounding the new hire. 

The transfer portal opened on Dec. 9. Some UNC players started declaring their intentions as early as Dec. 2. 11 Tar Heels entered the transfer portal before the hire. 

Then came the news. Belichick, who mutually parted ways with the Patriots in January after 24 seasons, would take over the helm of North Carolina’s football program, bringing his iconic cut-off, short-sleeve hoodies from the NFL sideline with him. 

“I’ve always wanted to coach college football,” Belichick said. “It just never really worked out. I had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK. But this is really a dream come true.”

His five-year contract will pay $10 million annually, but years four and five are not guaranteed. In comparison, Brown was paid $5 million in 2024. 

To commemorate the moment, Roberts presented the new head coach with a UNC-themed hoodie in his preferred style. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham traded his suit jacket for a navy sport coat with the sleeves haphazardly cut off for the entirety of the news conference. 

Cunningham said the lack of college experience on Belichick's resume didn't worry him. Hiring field hockey's Erin Matson and women's soccer's Damon Nahas — both of whom won national championships in their first year as college head coaches at UNC — quelled any anxiety. 

And trading the stone-faced, man-of-few-words press conference style from his days in the professional football league, Belichick spoke for nearly 45 minutes on Thursday. He cracked jokes. He showed off a sweatshirt he'd saved from when his dad was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 1953-55. The cuffs of the white sleeves were yellowed and "U. N. C." was printed in navy lettering. 

He shook off concerns about his transition to college coaching. He said he'll lean on his experience being around the University of Washington's team where his son, Steve, is a defensive coordinator. He will also use his past experience coaching young players in the NFL.

"As a teacher, you try to find ways to help the students, help the players," he said. "And if you can do that, then they have a tendency to listen and want more, if they're motivated which most of them are. If you can't, then they look somewhere else."  

He shared his vision for North Carolina's future. The vision that won him the job. 

During his year off from coaching, Belichick became immersed in college football to a degree he hadn’t been able to before. While in the NFL, he only watched the sport at the collegiate level in the spring while searching for Draft prospects. 

But after his split with the Patriots, dozens of coaches and personnel from the Big 10 and SEC called and sat down with him to pick his brain on college’s recent shifts to become more like the pro level. The two-minute timeout. The tablets on the sideline. Headsets. The similarities of NIL allotments to the salary cap of pro football. The role of a general manager. 

It forced him to think about how he would run a college program.  

“College came to me this year,” he said. “I didn’t necessarily go and seek it out.”

He wants UNC to be run like a professional program. In his view, that starts with the way players are trained and developed. He’ll run pro-level systems. He’ll use similar terminology in play-calling. He’ll prepare college players with techniques that worked for him in the NFL and that he knows other professional teams are using. 

He hired Michael Lombardi as his general manager — a former NFL GM with experience working for the Patriots, 49ers, Raiders and Browns. Now, Belichick will move to hiring assistants. He expects a strong NFL presence on the Tar Heel sideline. 

Based on his contract, he will be provided a budget of $10 million for assistant coach salaries, $1 million for strength and conditioning staff and $5.3 million for support staff, which includes the funding for Lombardi. 

This budget is consistent with the 2024 salaries of Brown’s assistant coaches. The 23-person staff totaled about $9.9 million. 

Belichick wants to continue to recruit in-state, but he also wants to take North Carolina’s recruiting national. Currently, he is set to inherit the lowest-ranked 2025 recruiting class in the ACC. 

In Brown’s final press conference, the departing head coach revealed the Tar Heels had about $4 million in NIL, but that number was set to increase with revenue sharing. Belichick’s contract calls for $13 million from revenue sharing. 

With the hire, Jennifer Lloyd of UNC’s Board of Trustees said North Carolina wanted to show it is serious about football. 

“There were many of us who were saying, ‘Why not us?’” Lloyd said. “What Michigan can do, what Alabama has done, what Georgia has done, what Washington has done, what Indiana has done, why couldn’t we do it as well? I don’t think it’s frustration. I would say everyone’s been wanting and been looking for the opportunity, and we’ve never had a better opportunity than today.”

Hours after Belichick left the stage and under a pitch-black night sky, the video board high above Kenan Stadium illuminated the football field. 

Belichick in a headset and Carolina Blue short-sleeve jacket. His name in bright white lettering. “Carolina Football Head Coach” underneath. 

A new era. A new approach. 

UNC hasn’t won an ACC title since 1980. The Tar Heels have only had seven ten-win seasons since 1946.

North Carolina wants more.

“I’m not making any predictions,” Belichick said. “I’m just saying I’m going to come in here and do the best I can with a great school. We’re going to have a great program. We’ll see where those results take us.”

@carolinewills03

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com