Report: Bill Belichick not expected to attend Fenway Bowl vs. UConn

New North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick will not attend Saturday’s Fenway Bowl, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. The Tar Heels will take on UConn in the bowl game at Fenway Park.

The Boston area, of course, is familiar territory for Belichick. That’s where he won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots alongside Tom Brady, but it appears he will not be returning to the area for the bowl game.

Belichick is working through his plan to build the UNC program after taking over for Mack Brown, and athletics director Bubba Cunningham said he hasn’t been at bowl practice. His reason is simple. The Super Bowl-winning head coach doesn’t want to be a distraction, Cunningham said.

“He’s totally dialed into building the roster,” Cunningham told Thamel. “He didn’t want to go to practice or be a distraction to the kids or the coaches for the bowl game.”

The UNC position marks Belichick’s first foray into the college football world after a decorated career in the NFL. He has 302 wins, sitting just 16 shy of Don Shula’s all-time record, but will instead take his scheme to the college game. He’s doing so at a familiar place, too. His father, Steve, served as an assistant at North Carolina in the 1950s.

After taking the UNC job, Belichick moved quickly to make a big hire. He brought in former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi to take the same role in Chapel Hill, and he’ll play a key role in roster building. The duo has been hard at work since arriving, recruiting at both the high school level and in the transfer portal.

As of Friday evening, North Carolina secured 10 commitments out of the portal and made a late run at former Washington State quarterback John Mateer before he committed to Oklahoma. One of the most notable additions, though, was on the high school recruiting trail.

Elite quarterback Bryce Baker signed with UNC earlier this month and appeared at a basketball game with Belichick. He was a top target under the previous regime and still chose the Tar Heels even after the coaching change. A four-star prospect, he is the No. 93 overall player and No. 10-ranked quarterback in the class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Bill Belichick’s goal is to build a program to help get players to the NFL, he said during his introductory press conference. He plans to use his connections – not to mention his experience in the league – make that happen.

“We’ll get players ready for the NFL,” Belichick said on College GameDay last week. “No matter what position they play, we’ll get them ready for their lives and their careers by the accountability that comes with the program, very much like Nick [Saban] did at Alabama. We’ll see what kind of success it [has], but very much like that model. Excited to do it. It’s been fun so far.”