Bill Belichick made sure to win over North Carolina fans at the start of his first press conference.
The former New England Patriots coach was introduced as head coach of the Tar Heels on Thursday. The start of the press conference leaned heavily on the time Belichick’s father, Steve, spent in North Carolina as an assistant.
Belichick was a toddler when his father was at UNC, and he said he remembers hearing a famous family story about himself as a young child after holding up an old sweatshirt -shirt of his father on the podium.
“Billy’s first words were ‘beat Duke,'” Belichick said.
The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is only the second coach to hold a college head coaching position after winning NFL championships with Bill Walsh. Belichick, who spent the 2023 season without a coach, said he always wanted to coach college football and followed that up with a deadpan line.
“I always wanted to coach college football and it never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so it was OK.”
Belichick also made it clear that he has no plans to leave for the NFL and take another shot at the pros. He signed a five-year contract with the school and was asked about a scenario in which he would coach for a few seasons at North Carolina before returning to the NFL.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said.
The 2025 season will be Belichick’s 30th as head coach. Prior to 24 seasons with the Patriots, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for five seasons.
When asked why he wanted to continue working, Belichick said he didn’t think being a football coach was a job.
“It’s better than working,” Belichick said. “When you love what you do – my father told me – when you love what you do, it’s not work. I love what I do. I love coaching, I love interacting with players, I love building a team. Wizards, game planning, the game itself.
Belichick replaces Mack Brown at North Carolina. Brown was one of three active head coaches — along with Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart — to ever win a national title. Brown was in his second stint at North Carolina and was fired with one game remaining in the regular season.
Former Browns interim coach and current UNC assistant Freddie Kitchens has been named the team’s interim coach for the Fenway Bowl. Belichick said Kitchens will be the first hire on his coaching staff for the 2025 season.
Belichick added that he spoke to Michael Jordan before accepting the North Carolina job and denied the rumor that he gave UNC officials a 400-page document on the organizational structure of a team football.
“I have no idea where that came from; I don’t have a 400-page document,” Belichick said.
Belichick’s NFL credentials are unquestionable: he is the second winningest coach in league history and has the most Super Bowl victories of any coach. But it’s not unreasonable to wonder if Belichick will be able to replicate that success at the college level, especially since he has no college head coaching experience.
Walsh coached at Stanford for two seasons before winning three Super Bowls with the 49ers. His second time at Stanford lasted three seasons. The Cardinal won 10 games in the first season back. He won seven games over the next two seasons before Walsh retired.
But the college game is a lot different than it was when Walsh returned with an impending revenue-sharing deal with players and their current freedom to transfer and make money off their name rights, image and resemblance. Belichick pointed out the parallels between the college game and the NFL because of the changes, but also clarified that there are differences as well.
As part of Belichick’s hiring, the school is also recruiting former NFL executive Michael Lombardi in a general manager role similar to what you would see in an NFL front office. When asked how involved he would be in recruiting, Belichick mentioned how similar the operation in Carolina would be to the one he worked with in the NFL.
“I think the recruiting process is up to everyone,” Belichick said. “That’s up to Michael and his scouting team, the evaluations and setting up the recruiting department and making it an attractive destination for the athlete. But that’s also part of the coaching job. Coach -chef certainly has an important role to play in this as well to ensure athletes that you are giving them what they want.
