Bill Belichick UNC football head coach: Former NFL Patriots leader expected to take over Tar Heels program, BOT meeting pending

CHAPEL HILL, NC (WTVD) — After days of rumors and reports, UNC Athletics confirmed that Bill Belichick will be the next head coach of the school's football team.

The announcement was posted on GoHeels.com on Wednesday before 8 p.m.

UNC Athletics said Belichick has agreed to a five-year contract. However, the deal won't be finalized until the UNC Board of Trustees meets and signs the contract.

ABC11 reported Wednesday morning that the UNC Board of Trustees was expected to meet to finalize the contract. ABC11 has since learned that the meeting will take place Thursday at 9 a.m

The University of North Carolina Committee on University Personnel announced Wednesday evening that it will hold an emergency meeting Thursday at 3 p.m. The full UNC Board of Governors will hold an emergency meeting at 3:30 p.m

“This is an exciting day for Carolina football and our university,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “Carolina is committed to excellence and wants to create an opportunity to succeed in everything we do, from the classroom to the competitive field. After speaking with Coach Belichick, I know he shares that commitment. His legacy speaks for itself and we look forward to it to work together on the next chapter of Carolina football.”

We know that college athletics are changing, and those changes require new and innovative thinking. Bill Belichick is a football legend, and hiring him to lead our program represents a new approach that will ensure Carolina football can evolve, compete and win – today and into the future,” Roberts added. “At Carolina we believe in providing championships. opportunities and the best possible experience for our student-athletes, and Coach Belichick shares that commitment. We are pleased to welcome him to Chapel Hill.”

Belichick is a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and one of the most renowned coaches in NFL history. He has 302 wins in the National Football League, putting him just 16 shy of the late Don Shula's record.

“I am excited about the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill. I grew up playing college football with my father and cherished those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill ,” Belichick said.

He emerged as a surprise possible candidate for the UNC football job that opened up after the firing of former coach Mack Brown. Brown is a Hall of Fame Coach who returned to UNC for a second stint and made the Tar Heels relevant again, but failed to bring UNC to national prominence.

UNC leaders hope hiring Belichick is the next step in turning the traditional basketball school into a football powerhouse as well.

“That's what we need, someone who can take us from good to great. How can we compete for championships – ACC and national championships?” Cunningham said on a UNC-produced podcast at the start of the coaching search.

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The move from the 73-year-old Brown to the 72-year-old Belichick would mean UNC turning to a coach who has never worked at the college level yet had incredible NFL success alongside quarterback Tom Brady for most of his 24 year. -year tenure with the Patriots that ended last season.

In the time since, he had been linked to NFL jobs, most notably the Atlanta Falcons in January.

Belichick has publicly hypothesized what his college program might look like, emphasizing “IF” he had taken a college job. He noted that modern college football is much more like the NFL.

While Belichick didn't go into detail about his UNC discussions, he did provide insight into the parallels he sees between running an NFL team at the college level, where players can now capitalize on their athletic fame with endorsements and with the advent of the revenue sharing threatens.

“If I was going to a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the opportunity to play in the NFL,” Belichick said. “It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, schedule, coaching, techniques that would transfer over to the NFL.

“It would be a college-level NFL program,” he added.

There is also at least a little family connection to the UNC program for Belichick; his late father, Steve, was an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953-55.

The NCAA transfer portal opened Monday, potentially putting UNC's roster in flux.

Many details about Belichick's contract remain unknown. Previous reporting has suggested his hiring would include an increase in NIL resources as well as a position on staff for his son Stephen Belichick.

Representatives of the UNC Collective have hypothetically discussed potential player interest if Belichick were to take the job. They emphasized that nothing has been done, but have had discussions about the idea.

A source told ABC11 that it was Belichick's camp that first contacted UNC to express interest in the position.

ABC11's Sean Coffey, Michael Perchick, Kate Rogerson, ESPN and The Associated Press contributed.