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NFL insider doubles down on Bill Belichick contract report, takes shot at North Carolina staff

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 9 hours•

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Bill Belichick
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Through the first month of his time at North Carolina, there’s still a big question around Bill Belichick. There are six NFL head coach openings after the Dallas Cowboys moved on from Mike McCarthy, and multiple reports said teams called the legendary New England Patriots headman to gauge his interest despite just getting to Chapel Hill.

One report from CBS Sports said Belichick hadn’t signed his contract yet, leading to questions about whether his $10 million buyout would come into play. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero doubled down on that amid the rumors swirling around.

Pelissero noted UNC general manager Michael Lombardi’s public statements about Belichick’s future after signing a five-year contract – although the first three are guaranteed. However, he also pointed out Belichick hasn’t spoken about the noise to this point, which would go against one of his long-standing policies in New England.

“I am acutely aware of what Michael Lombardi continues to post one every social media operation, saying ‘The NFL is not an option. Bill doesn’t want to go to the NFL. We laugh about the NFL. It’s a joke to us. He only wants to be at the University of North Carolina,'” Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show. “I also know Bill Belichick, who for years, with players and coaches, kind of had a rule – you’re supposed to speak about yourself only. We’ve not heard directly from Bill Belichick on any of these things.

“The facts right now are, he’s gotten calls from teams, he did get a call from Tom Brady at one point. He has not signed a contract – I know that’s not unusual at North Carolina. But when I referenced a couple of weeks ago the questions about whether Bill Belichick or a new team would even have to pay that $10 million buyout, that’s what I was referring to, which was there’s not a memorandum of understanding or a contract that’s been signed by all parties here. So there’s a little bit of gray area in terms of how exactly that would apply.”

Brady, of course, is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and is reportedly taking on a key role in the search to replace Antonio Pierce. That’s one of the rumored potential destinations for Belichick, and another is in Dallas. The Cowboys just moved on from McCarthy, leading to speculation about whether Jerry Jones will make a call to the 8-time Super Bowl champion or if that window closed.

Pelissero cited the lifestyle change Belichick is making by going to the college level, particularly with recruiting. Although he could be happy on the trail, Pelissero wondered what could happen if Jones got in touch with Belichick about coming to Dallas.

“I would say if you, Rich, using all your years – I know you talked with Bill a number of times through the days at NFL Network and you’ve followed his career. And I would just say, when you look at all the photos of Bill Belichick wearing a dark suit and having his arm around some 16-year-old in a high school cafeteria while driving around the East Coast in a van, does that seem like what Bill Belichick wants to be doing right now?” Pelissero said. “If he had his option, do you think he wants to be on the recruiting trail and trying to talk kids into coming to North Carolina? Or, do you think he wants to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys?

“I’m not saying that’s the focus. I’m not saying what he’s doing at North Carolina is not real – and I’m sure Michael Lombardi will respond to this video the first chance he gets the chance to. What I am saying is, if that call comes from Jerry Jones, ‘We need you here for 2-3 years,’ I think that Bill Belichick would pick up the phone. We’ll see if that call comes.”