Bill Belichick’s decision to take the North Carolina Tar Heels job came as a shock to many around the professional and college football world.
Belichick, at 72 and one of the most highly respected former NFL head coaches, has never coached at the collegiate level. He was an assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1975 before eventually winning several Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and New York Giants.
The decision to go to college at this juncture of his life and career left one of his former players, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, quizzical.
“What are we doing here? I mean, with Bill Belichick going to coach North Carolina. I mean, college football — there’s only one bowl game I want to see Bill Belichick coaching and that’s the Super Bowl, OK?” he said on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “I don’t want to see him coaching some Lawnmower Bowl in December or January. That’s just not who I am.”
“I don’t know how there wouldn’t be any interest as to where you bring a Belichick in, and he makes you immediately relevant and well-coached by who he is,” Bruschi continued. “Would he make one of these teams that needed a head coach this year an immediate contender? I mean, yes, he would. He is that good. Now, he’s not going to be on the level of six championships New England Patriots or anything like that, but your team would be competent from the get-go; and then it’s on your players.
“I can’t believe Bill Belichick won’t be in the NFL next year. … I don’t know how this happened.”
Belichick officially agreed to take the job last week despite checking in to see if there was interest from the New York Jets’ side about possibly coaching them, despite historical drama surrounding both parties.
North Carolina has gone to six consecutive bowl games. They’ve had one 10-win season since 1998.
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