Boston Reporter sees Coach Prime-like pull for Bill Belichick as UNC makes strategic move during Transfer Portal season
Bill Belichick is officially the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the world of football has gone awry with speculation regarding how he will tackle his first collegiate job. However, popular opinion says the arrival of the winningest coach in the history of the NFL, if measured by Super Bowls, is about to shape things up at Chapel Hill.
Reporter Alex Barth chipped into the discussion arguing that Belichick's presence with the Tar Heels will have a pull on recruiters that only Deion Sanders can match among all college football head coaches. He reposted a clip from "The Pat McAfee Show" on his X account and wrote:
"In Deion Sanders’ first year in Colorado he brought in over 50 players via the transfer portal. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see similar turnover with Bill Belichick and UNC."
Bill Belichick has been out of a job since 2023 when he parted ways with the New England Patriots after 24 seasons. Over that time, he won six Super Bowls and had an overall record of 266-121.
Bill Belichick on what it means to become the coach of North Carolina
Bill Belichick was presented on Thursday as the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. This will be his first-ever collegiate job, having only worked in the NFL. As a head coaching gig, this will be his third. He had a brief stint as the head coach for the Cleveland Browns between 1991 and 1995.
According to the coach, this opportunity is a dream come true for him:
"It just never really worked out, had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK, but this is a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad. As a kid, all I knew was college football."
"It's great to come back home to Carolina and back into the environment that I really grew up in. When you're little, you don't remember everything. I was too young to remember a lot of things at Carolina, but as I grew up, you hear the same story over and over and over again. One story I always heard was, 'Billy's first words were, 'Beat Duke.'"
Belichick also emphasized that he's in for the long run:
"I didn't come here to leave," Belichick said. "I feel like doing it a long time. I'm good to go."
This is all a reference to the fact that his father, Steve Belichick, was a backfield coach at North Carolina between 1953 and 1955. The opportunity opened up for him after North Carolina decided to part ways with Mack Brown, who was on his second stint with the school, towards the end of the season.