Why is Bill Belichick going to UNC? NFL legend accepts college job in stunning hire for Tar Heels | Sporting News

Bill Belichick is returning to coaching, but in a surprising fashion.

The longtime Patriots head coach is headed to North Carolina to take over the Tar Heels football program, which would be his first time coaching college football in his coaching career.

He takes over for veteran head coach Mack Brown, who was fired after winning 44 games for the Tar Heels in between 2018 and 2024.

Belichick's decision brings up a lot of questions, as it appeared that he initially preferred to return to the NFL as a coach.

However, instead, the veteran coach is going to the college game to return to coaching.

The Sporting News examines why Belichick opted to join the Tar Heels football program.

MORE BILL BELICHICK NEWS: What we know about Bill Belichick's UNC contract Bill Walsh's Stanford swan song could offer Belichick-UNC hints Revisiting Bill Belichick's playing career at Wesleyan University Why is Bill Belichick going to UNC? Belichick has a connection to North Carolina, as his father coached in Chapel Hill for three years from 1953 to 1955 as an assistant coach.

While Belichick has never coached in college himself, his father worked primarily as a college coach during Belichick's childhood.

Belichick said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday that he planned to run an "NFL program at a college level" if he got the North Carolina job, indicating he wanted to utilize his vast NFL experience for a new challenge.

Bill Belichick contract details Belichick has agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal to become North Carolina's next head football coach, The Athletic confirmed Wednesday.

Sources with @BrendanRMarks : UNC's deal with Bill Belichick is for 3 years, $30 million.

The full contract has not yet been disclosed, but it will be publicly available when official due to North Carolina's status as a public school.

How old is Bill Belichick? Belichick is 72 years old, but he will be 73 by the time he coaches his first game with the Tar Heels.

He instantly becomes the oldest coach in college football, replacing former North Carolina head coach Mack Brown in that spot.

Who is Bill Belichick's son? Steve Belichick is currently the defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies, but he started his coaching career with his father in the NFL.

From 2012 to 2023, Belichick worked for his father in a variety of defensive coaching roles, including as safeties coach, defensive backs coach and outside linebackers coach.

He also served as the Patriots defensive play-caller in his last few seasons with New England.

Bill Belichick coaching record Coach NFL Wins Don Shula 328 George Halas 318 Bill Belichick 303 Andy Reid 270 Tom Landry 250 Belichick is 26 wins away from breaking Shula's all-time NFL wins record, and the assumption was that he would want to take an NFL job to try and break that record.

However, by going the college route, Belichick will probably not get another NFL opportunity, meaning his wins total may be set at 303 total.

MORE BILL BELICHICK NEWS: Explaining old photo of Bill Belichick at Kenan Stadium Meet Bill Belichick's coaching sons and dad Why did Bill Belichick leave the Patriots? Belichick and the Patriots agreed to part ways after the 2023 season , which saw New England go 4-13 their worst record since 1992.

New England missed the playoffs in three of Belichick's last four seasons, and hasn't one a playoff game since winning the Super Bowl in the 2018 season.

Belichick ended his time in New England with a 266-121 record, which included the second-most wins by any coach for a single team.

However, both Belichick and the Patriots felt it was time to move on, as New England promoted Jerod Mayo as Belichick's replacement..

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