It was the easiest joke to make because it seemed too outlandish to ever actually happen.
Awaiting the arrival of UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis inside the media room at the Dean E. Smith Center on Dec. 2, us media members chatted away about the possibilities for UNC football’s coaching search while we waited to speak with Davis about the Tar Heels’ upcoming matchup with Alabama.
“Man, just wait until Bill Belichick is leading the Tar Heels out of the tunnel at Kenan Stadium before the spring game in April.”
Well, three days later, Inside Carolina reported Belichick’s interest in coaching the Tar Heels. Now, as of Wednesday night, UNC has hired the 72-year-old Belichick to replace 73-year-old Mack Brown as the 36th coach in program history and 12th since the ACC was formed in 1953.
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Proving it’s no laughing matter, UNC showed it’s serious about football by offering Belichick a five-year deal with promises to help the Tar Heels move toward more of a professional model in hopes of consistently competing against the sport’s biggest brands.
Never say never.
Good or bad, Bill Belichick to UNC football is a different path for Tar Heels
If nothing else, Belichick is the first UNC football coach to get the university’s full commitment to awakening what people have long referred to as a “sleeping giant,” a program that, on the surface, should be much better than its history because of its brand.
Receiving that nod of approval from UNC is a victory for Belichick before he even coaches a game in Chapel Hill.
Historically, UNC has an average football program with wins in 56% of its games. It’s been middle-of-road, with a mixed bag of winning and losing.
Why play the same game the Tar Heels have been playing forever? If you’re going to throw a Hail Mary, you might as well do it with the NFL GOAT.
All Belichick has done for most of his career is win, and win big.
I don’t know if that means he’ll win as a college coach. It could be a dream or nightmare, a blessing or disaster, ingenious or stupid. I do know it’ll be different. The hiring of Belichick is more likely to be a walk-off touchdown or pick-six than 3 yards and a cloud of dust.
The possible reward feels like it’s worth the risk.
UNC has won double-digit games once since 1997 and hasn’t won an ACC championship since Lawrence Taylor — a one-time star of Belichick’s NFL defenses — was wearing Carolina blue in 1980. The Tar Heels have a losing record (15-22) in 37 bowl appearances.
For the first time, the Tar Heels are taking a different path, one that could lead them to new heights or back to their current state as a ho-hum program watching other college football teams reach the mountaintop.
For a program mired in mediocrity, the feast-or-famine approach of hiring an NFL coach with no college experience is a nice change of pace. Heck, Belichick’s arrival will boost the TV ratings, sell tickets and put butts in those blue seats at Kenan Stadium.
The NFL circus is coming to Chapel Hill with its cameras. The national spotlight will burn brighter with an eight-time Super Bowl champion serving as the lead Tar Heel.
We might be laughing at the end of this wacky, wild and weird experiment. But by hiring Belichick, UNC has signaled its seriousness about making the football team matter at a national level.
It might be a Hail Mary. But if it works, the joke’s on us.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Bill Belichick to UNC football no laughing matter for Tar Heels
