There’s something going on with Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
What exactly it is, however, remains unclear.
First, let’s start with what we do know.
Last week, 247Sports North Carolina affiliate site Inside Carolina reported that UNC had interviewed the eight-time Super Bowl champion for its vacant head coaching position. The stunning news was later confirmed by both the school and Belichick himself, with the 72-year-old sure sounding like someone already making recruiting pitches during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday.
“It seems like college football is more like pro football,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of college coaches about things like the salary cap and putting value on players and negotiating, kind of mixing all that together. So I think there are some similarities from what I’ve heard, I haven’t experienced it firsthand, but feels like that.”
This is where things get murky.
Considering the reporting surrounding the situation seemingly indicated that a decision was coming soon, it wasn’t a surprise when The Guardian’s Ollie Connolly reported that Belichick had agreed to become North Carolina’s next head coach on Tuesday. What was a surprise is that we don’t know whether the feeling is mutual, with Connolly adding that the former New England Patriots head coach had presented UNC officials with a 400-page “organizational bible,” which sure just sounds like a list of demands.
Belichick’s bible would require historic levels of investment from the school. Includes salary minimums position by position and a willingness to hire two staffs: a coaching staff run by Belichick; a recruitment staff run by a sitting college GM — who would require a buyout
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) December 10, 2024
There has already been pushback from the group of 13 trustees, with input from wider faculty. The investment would overhaul the school’s approach to football; Belichick unsure if the school will meet the demands and is unwilling to negotiate
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) December 10, 2024
Assuming Connolly’s reporting is accurate — and there’s no reason to think it’s not, although he also doesn’t necessarily have a reputation as a news-breaker — saying Belichick has agreed to the job is a bit misleading. Essentially, he’s “agreed” to the job so long as UNC acquiesces to his list of demands, which effectively means that he and the school are still negotiating the terms of a potential deal.
Shortly after Connolly’s reporting made the rounds on social media, Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that no such deal has been reached and that talks remain “very fluid.” Benjamin Albright said something similar.
As of right now, there is no agreement between Bill Belichick and the University of North Carolina, per multiple sources.
Both sides have remained in contact and will continue to talk. “VERY fluid,” one source said. pic.twitter.com/8bavRSvGhS
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) December 10, 2024
Nutshelling here after a few phone calls this AM
From my understanding Bill Belichick has told UNC “here are my conditions” and UNC has not (yet?) agreed to those conditions.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 10, 2024
Ultimately, there’s room for both Connolly and Schultz’s reporting to be right and the timing and the content of both reports seems informative.
But while the situation might remain murky publicly, what does seem certain is that Belichick’s year as a member of the media will likely be one and done. And should that be as a result of him heading to Chapel Hill, it will be interesting to see how much of the reporting regarding the shocking hiring is proven correct.
