Report: Bill Belichick, North Carolina finalizing deal to become Tar Heels next head coach

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter North Carolina is finalizing a deal to make Bill Belichick the program’s next head coach. After interviewing for the job and days of speculation, Belichick has now taken over in Chapel Hill. He will replace Mack Brown and take his first swing at coaching on the college level.

“Chapel Bill: six-time Super-Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick is finalizing a deal to become the new head coach at North Carolina, sources tell me, @PeteThamel and @ClowESPN,” Schefter said via x. “Belichick is going back to school, to where his father served as an assistant coach in the 1950s.”

Belichick is one of the most decorated coaches in all of football but all of his success has come at an NFL level. Six Super Bowls are on the resume, all coming with the New England Patriots. Additionally, Belichick has been named NFL Coach of the Year on three occasions and a part of two NFL All-Decade teams (2000s and 2010s).

This is the first time Belichick has been anywhere but the NFL. His career began back in 1975 as a special assistant for the Baltimore Colts. Detroit, Denver, and New York (both teams) saw him serve as an assistant coach. Cleveland hired him to be the head coach in 1991 but the relationship only lasted through the 1995 season.

North Carolina just ended Brown’s second stint with the program, with this go-round last six seasons. All but two finished with a winning record, as the Tar Heels were 6-7 and 2021 and currently 6-6 with a bowl game pending.

To find the only year North Carolina finished ranked under Brown, it’s 2020 when the College Football Playoff rankings had them at No. 13.

Belichick will attempt to right the ship and bring UNC to national prominence. The journey will officially begin on Aug. 30 when TCU comes to Chapel Hill. Until then, Belichick has a staff and roster to put together ahead of the 2025 season.