When Bill Belichick accepted the job as North Carolina Tar Heels, many were stunned. After all, the former NFL head coach who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships had never coached on the collegiate level in his life. Just how would he handle the transition?
Well, one thing is for sure: Belichick has certainly put North Carolina football on the map, as the Tar Heels have gone from a relatively afterthought on the gridiron to one of the most obvious must-watches this fall.
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But while Belichick is most known for his wizardry on the sidelines, his personal life has also jumped to the forefront over the last year thanks to his much-publicized relationship with Jordon Hudson.
Perhaps in this case, however, the old adage that all publicity is good publicity is very applicable here, because all of the intrigue surrounding Belichick — whose personal life was historically shrouded in mystery — has made North Carolina that much more of a premier team.
As a matter of fact, sports media consultant and former Fox Sports president Bob Thompson went as far to liken Belichick to Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders in that regard.
“To the extent your coach provides appeal, you can call it the Deion Sanders effect, I think Belichick certainly combines it with this soap opera of his personal life,” Thompson said, via Brendan Marks and Ralph D. Russo of The Athletic. “Everybody’s going to watch it.”
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Sanders is now in his third season as Colorado head coach and may very well be the most-discussed person in the sport since he took the Buffaloes job. Much of that is because of Sanders’ very public persona, and even though he is an incredibly polarizing figure, it works.
Maybe the same goes for Belichick, whose legacy may very well be on the line as he heads into his debut campaign in Chapel Hill.
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