According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, former Patriots HC Bill Belichick may have grown tired of waiting for an NFL team to call him about a head coaching position.
Russini continues to mention that North Carolina’s interest in Belichick is not just for show and that if he is offered the position, a source familiar with Belichick believes that he will take the job.
Belichick had a second meeting with North Carolina on Thursday about their head coaching vacancy while in Manhattan.
According to Ollie Connolly, negotiations between Belichick and North Carolina include a guarantee that his son, Stephen Belichick, will be named the school’s head coach in waiting. Stephen is currently the University of Washington’s defensive coordinator.
Connolly mentions that UNC is “open” to the guarantee and Bill Belichick is not looking for leverage for NFL offers.
Many believe that Belichick could simply be leveraging North Carolina’s interest in him to land another NFL job despite having a second meeting with university officials. Regardless, it remains clear that Belichick is not ready to shut down his coaching career.
The Tar Heels moved on from former HC Mack Brown and since then have been connected to a few different professional coaches to fill their vacancy, including Steelers OC Arthur Smith who turned them down.
Belichick has no notable connections to the program but is widely believed to be targeting a return to the NFL sidelines in this upcoming coaching cycle.
Belichick, 72, got his start coaching in the NFL in 1975 with the then-Baltimore Colts. He had assistant jobs with the Lions and Broncos before landing with the Giants, where he eventually rose to defensive coordinator under legendary HC Bill Parcells.
The Browns hired Belichick as head coach in 1991 and he was in the post for five years before being fired. He rejoined Parcells as an assistant with the Patriots and left to go with him to the Jets the following year.
He was slated to replace Parcells as head coach of the Jets in 2000 but infamously resigned and was hired by the Patriots, who had to give up a first-round pick to the Jets as compensation. Belichick has been in New England ever since, winning six Super Bowls in 24 years.
For his career, Belichick has a record of 302-163 over 29 seasons (.655 W/L percentage) and has eight Super Bowl rings, six of them as head coach of the Patriots. He’s a three-time winner of the AP Coach of the Year award.
We’ll have more on Belichick as the news is available.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
