College football analyst reveals thoughts about Bill Belichick coaching UNC football
The North Carolina Tar Heels are nowhere close to a college football powerhouse, but they made a massive move this offseason in hopes they become a future powerhouse.
In December 2024, UNC hired 8-time Super Bowl Champion Bill Belichick to be their next head coach. Belichick started his coaching career with the then-Baltimore Colts in 1975, coaching in the NFL until January 2024 with the New England Patriots.
The Tar Heels are hoping that Belichick can find success early on in his college coaching career. But some analysts are not convinced he will.
On his latest podcast, 247Sports' Josh Pate said he doesn't think the Belichick experiment will work at North Carolina.
'Swallow this about North Carolina: I flat out don't think it's (Belichick) going to work," Pate said. "I don't think that college football is remotely as comparable to the NFL, as the broad brush artists out there tend to paint it. Even if you have the investment, let's just say North Carolina's invested. A lot of the feedback I've gotten is they're taking it seriously. They're not going to pay him $10 million a year, but not get behind him. Even if you're behind him, you gotta go out-recruit Georgia or Alabama, or Clemson, or Miami. You can't just try and stay close to them and hope to out-develop them. Cause they're good at developing and recruiting.'
Despite Belichick's extensive professional success, he's a first-time college coach. Belichick is no stranger to college football, spending his early childhood days in Kenan Stadium with his father, but hasn't coached a collegiate game before.
There's plenty of hope weaving its way through Chapel Hill right now, as the Tar Heels have a multi-time Super Bowl Champion coaching them. In a perfect world, UNC wins the CFP National Championship this fall, but there's also plenty of risk with a first-time college coach.
Belichick's collegiate coaching debut will come Monday, September 1 at 8 p.m. against TCU, with the Horned Frogs traveling to Kenan Stadium for a primetime kickoff on ESPN. How North Carolina plays in that game will be a key, early indicator of if the Belichick experiment.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
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