Is Bill Belichick done with the NFL?
BOSTON -- After spending the last five decades coaching in the NFL, Bill Belichick is off to the college game as the new head coach at the University of North Carolina. It's an interesting and surprising move, given Belichick is just 15 victories away from becoming the NFL's all-time wins leader.
Accepting the head coaching job in Chapel Hill likely ends Belichick's quest to top Don Shula's record at the pro level. But according to those around Belichick, he isn't super thrilled with what the NFL has become in recent years.
Belichick reportedly "disgusted" with today's NFL
ESPN's Seth Wickersham went in-depth on Belichick's decision to take the UNC job, and according to one Belichick confidant, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach "is 'disgusted' in what he believes the NFL had become."
"This is a big f--- you to the NFL," another person close to Belichick told Wickersham.
Belichick will now take on a new challenge in the college game, one he's never tackled before. But did he have a choice?
Why weren't there any NFL jobs for Bill Belichick?
While Belichick might sound done with the NFL, it seems like the NFL is done with Bill Belichick as well.
Three NFL teams will already be looking for a new head coach this winter -- the Chicago Bears, the New York Jets, and the New Orleans Saints -- and more coaches will be shown the door when the regular season ends next month. But would any of those teams entertain hiring Belichick?
Only one of the seven teams that had a head-coaching vacancy last offseason spoke with Belichick, and the Atlanta Falcons passed him over to hire Raheem Morris. Mix in the NFL putting a much bigger emphasis on offense over defense -- not to mention Belichick's 29-38 record since Tom Brady left New England -- and a lot of teams likely felt that Belichick's approach is too outdated for the league.
There is also his age and desire for full control of an organization. Belichick will turn 73 in April, and NFL teams probably wouldn't be receptive to blowing out its coaching staff and front office to bring in someone who may only be there for a couple of years.
"There is a part of me that feels like, I don't want to say the NFL turned its back on Bill because that is too strong. But I feel the NFL is better with Bill Belichick in it. It doesn't feel right," ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss said Wednesday night on WBZ's Patriots 1st Down.
But it was Belichick's commitment to the school -- reportedly submitting a 400-page bible on how he'd turn the Tar Heels into a winning program --that enamored North Carolina with the head coach. Now it looks like he'll likely close out his coaching career with a brand new experience.
Could Belichick return to the NFL some day?
Seeing Belichick on a college sideline on Saturdays is going to take some getting used to. But the bottom line is that Belichick will be back to doing what he loves and does best: Coaching football.
"What does feel right is that if Bill Belichick isn't in [the NFL], that Bill is coaching. He is a coach, and coaches coach," Reiss said Wednesday. "He loves football. He loves coaching. The media stuff, I'm sure he enjoyed it, but that doesn't fill his bucket."
Belichick will completely revamp the North Carolina football program, and he certainly sounds committed to seeing it through for as long as it takes. Given his age, this will likely be it for Belichick.
But if he has a couple of successful seasons with the Tar Heels, could NFL teams come calling? And would Belichick be willing to discuss a potential return to the NFL?
"We never really know what Bill Belichick is thinking," said Reiss. "We just have to guess. I think if an NFL opportunity presented itself in the next two years -- say he goes to North Carolina and wins big -- I think that would be hard for him to turn it down.
"I think the NFL is in his blood," added Reiss.