New Era Begins For Tar Heel Football

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—It's a whole new world in Chapel Hill.

Fully embracing the evolving state of college athletics, the University of North Carolina introduced Bill Belichick as its new head football coach on Thursday. The second-winningest head coach in NFL history with 333 victories, Belichick has signed a five-year contract approved by the university's Board of Trustees and Board of Governors.

Belichick met the media at an introductory press conference at Kenan Stadium on Thursday afternoon. ESPN and the ACC Network televised the proceedings live, and members of the national media not necessarily accustomed to visiting Chapel Hill were on hand. The glare of the national spotlight has been warm since news broke of Belichick's hiring on Wednesday.

"In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, 'The future ain't what it used to be,'" said athletic director Bubba Cunningham. "The future of college athletics is changing, and we want to be at the forefront of that. Coach Belichick has demonstrated his passion for teaching, for coaching and for lifelong learning, and he is an absolute perfect fit for us at this time in the history of the university and the history of college sports."

Cunningham and UNC chancellor Lee Roberts presented Belichick a gift of a sleeveless Carolina hoodie, a reference to the coach's partiality for that style of sideline apparel, before Cunningham jokingly donned a sport coat with the sleeves cut off to match for the remainder of the press conference.

Belichick responded with a surprise of his own, unveiling his father's UNC sweatshirt from his time as a Tar Heel assistant coach in the 1950s, an item the younger Belichick had saved for decades.

"I always wanted to coach in college football," Belichick said before quipping, "it just never really worked out. I had some pretty good years in the NFL, so that was okay. This is really kind of a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad as a coach at Navy for 50 years, so as a kid all I really knew was college football. It's great to come back home to Carolina and back in an environment I really grew up in.

"When you're little, you don't remember everything obviously. I was too young to remember a lot of the things from Carolina, but as I grew up you hear the same story over and over and over again. And so, one story I always heard was, 'Billy's first words were beat Duke.'"

Prior to accepting the job, Belichick had conversations about the UNC program with legendary Tar Heels Lawrence Taylor, who played for Belichick with the New York Giants, Julius Peppers, who sat in the front row for Thursday's press conference, and Michael Jordan.

"He's the greatest of all-time," Peppers said of Belichick. "I'm happy to have him here. I know his presence and his knowledge of the game are going to elevate our program. I'm here today in support of this hire, and I'm excited, looking forward to the future."

Belichick guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, most by a head coach in NFL history. He also won two more as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants while serving on the staff of Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. He is a three-time NFL Coach of the Year who earned a spot as coach on the NFL's All-Decade Teams for the 2000s and 2010s, and he was named to the league's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

"I'm here to teach, develop and build a program in the way that I believe in," he said.

"I've said many times that we want to be the best public university in the United States, and that means excellence in everything that we do," said Roberts. "We're going to have an excellent college football program, we want to compete with the best and we've hired the best coach."

While lacking college coaching experience, Belichick boasts a record of 333-178 (.652) as an NFL head coach, a coaching career that dates to 1975 and includes a record-31 playoff wins. In his 24 seasons as the Patriots' head coach, New England won 17 AFC East championships, advanced to 13 AFC Championship games and made nine Super Bowl trips.

So, compared to your typical college coaching candidate, Belichick represents a new day and a new way forward for the Tar Heels. His vision of running a college program through a professional lens reflects the NIL and revenue sharing realities now dominating college athletics, and Carolina has upped its football budget and commitment to woo Belichick and give him the tools to succeed in Chapel Hill.

"We'll hire the best coaches we can hire," Belichick said of his future staff. "I want to do everything I can to help this program and make it as strong as possible, so we'll hire the best ones we can get. There will certainly be a strong presence of NFL people on the staff, I think that's a certainty. Not only in the staff but in the training area. At the same time, I'm looking for the best fit for Carolina, and that fit, I think, is a little different than an NFL team would have."

When asked about his external impressions of the Tar Heel program as an NFL coach, Belichick explained one of his overriding goals as he enters the college ranks with Carolina.

"Great place to go to school, great program, but It's been awhile," he said. "[The] 1980 [season], that was the heyday, and we got [Lawrence] Taylor right after that to the Giants. He talked so much about the Tar Heels and their great program. It kind of hasn't been to that point since. There's a lot of pride in this program, and I want to do everything I can here to help take it to the highest level."

The hire has already made a strong impression on Tar Heel football alumni.

"Bill has the experience to elevate every aspect of our football program," says former tight end Alge Crumper (UNC, 1996-2000), who also served as a team captain with the Patriots under Belichick in 2010. "This bold hire leaves no doubt that football is a priority in Chapel Hill."

The first addition to Belichick's staff is former NFL executive Michael Lombardi as general manager. Belichick also indicated Freddie Kitchens, who was UNC's run game coordinator and tight ends coach under Mack Brown and has served as interim head coach since Brown's departure, would be his first coaching hire.

"Michael and I have worked together going back over 30 years," said Belichick. "He has a great knowledge of the general manager role, if you will, in this type of position, in terms of scouting two types of players (high school players and college portal players), as well as dealing with some sort of salary cap, which is now a part of college football."

To close the press conference, a reporter asked Belichick to explain why he chose UNC for his initial foray into the college coaching ranks.

He replied, "All the things the University of North Carolina stands for...the academics, the culture, the research…everything it stands for…on the field, off the field and the destination that Carolina is for so many student-athletes. There's so much opportunity here. I'm honored to have an opportunity and thrilled to be a part of it."

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