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Bill Belichick on possibly leaving North Carolina for return to the NFL: 'I didn't come here to leave'

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Bill Belichick
Bob Breidenbach | USA TODAY NETWORK

With Bill Belichick being one of the most notable coaching candidates available throughout football of the last year, it’s natural to think the newest stop in his career could be a short one in order to eventually return to the pros. However, that’s not his plan in his words.

Belichick addressed the thought that he’d leave North Carolina for the NFL if possible during his introductory press conference with the Tar Heels on Thursday. He quieted that quickly with a short response on that.

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“Yeah, I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick stated.

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Again, it’s a legitimate thought considering all things with Belichick. He has never before been a college coach of any kind while he spent nearly a half century coaching in the National Football League. Even after the end of his 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots, Belichick has remained a possible candidate for jobs in the league for the last year. That’s what comes with being still interested in coaching as someone with a resumé that has 467 wins and six wins in the Super Bowl while in the NFL.

Even so, Chapel Hill is where Belichick will be coaching for the foreseeable future with him signed on a five-year deal as the next head coach of North Carolina.

Belichick explains accepting North Carolina job despite his age

Bill Belichick knew the question was coming.

“At 72, why do you want to keep coaching?” a Raleigh News & Observer reporter asked.

It was the second question of Belichick’s introductory press conference as North Carolina’s new head football coach on Thursday afternoon, and the 72-year-old former NFL head coach came loaded with a zinger.

“It beats working,” Belichick said amid laughter. “My dad told me this: when you love what you do, it’s not work. I love what I do, I love coaching. I love the interaction with the players, I love building a team, working with the assistants, game planning, the game itself. There’s some good ones and some bad ones, but they’re all learning experiences.”

“And working with young kids with the energy and enthusiasm to want to be good, to want to be successful, it’s great every day to wake up and come into that environment.”