(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Dec. 9, 2024.)
5. My first reaction to the news Bill Belichick interviewed for the North Carolina job included a rolling of the eyes. My second reaction was quite different.
The Athletic’s Steve Buckley wrote a humorous column questioning the fit for Belichick on a college campus, comparing the 72-year-old former New England Patriots coach to the Rodney Dangerfield character, Thornton Melon, from the 1986 comedy “Back to School.”
Some NFL executives also laughed at the idea.
Kidding aside, Belichick taking a college job like the one available at North Carolina could be more realistic than one might think initially.
Let us count the ways:
• No NFL job: It’s plausible there will be no NFL coaching job available to Belichick in the coming cycle. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons last offseason but did not get the job. Very few teams, if any, appear willing to hand over full control to Belichick. The odds of that changing could be low.
“Jacksonville is the one place he could get whatever power he is looking for,” an NFL team exec said. “Is he trying to get (Jaguars owner) Shad Khan to make a move?”
Doug Pederson remains Jaguars’ coach for now.
• Desire to coach: Belichick did not want to leave the Patriots. He wanted to coach last season. He wants to coach in the future. If there’s no NFL job for him to take, the college ranks would be the next-best thing for a coaching lifer with a strong desire to teach.
• Father’s history: Belichick’s love for history is documented. His father, Steve, coached at North Carolina from 1953 to 1955 before finishing his coaching career at Navy. This wouldn’t be a reason for Bill Belichick to take the job there, but it’s a nice little footnote.
• Setting up son: This is the big one. If Belichick took the North Carolina job, his son, Steve, would reportedly be named successor in waiting. This could be a big draw for a coaching father.
If an NFL team did come after the elder Belichick, Bill could leave North Carolina to take the NFL job, helping himself and his son in one move. Could it get much better than that from a father’s perspective?
So many powerful coaches have tried to set up their sons for success in the sport.
Belichick, Mike Zimmer, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Jack Del Rio, Dean Pees, Norv Turner, Gary Kubiak, Marvin Lewis, Mike Shanahan, Jim Harbaugh, Monte Kiffin and Lovie Smith head a long list of recent coaches whose sons worked with or under them in the NFL.
It’s clearly a priority for Belichick, whose two sons, Steve and Brian, worked on his Patriots staffs (Brian is still with New England, while Steve is the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington).
• College rules: Belichick could get total or near-total control of a college program more easily than he could have either with an NFL team.
“It is easier to replicate what he had in New England at a college,” an exec said. “He doesn’t have to ask the GM anything. He can just pay people. He and his coaches can have autonomy. The pros is not like that.”
But would it really be easier?
“Remember when Bill sent Randy Moss (among others) home after he was late to a team meeting (in 2009)?” another exec asked. “How’s it going to work in FBS when players are late to meetings, tests and the team bus? Who runs scout team when 30 percent of the roster gets sent back to their dorms?”
Belichick might also have to adjust his expectations for meetings.
“Think of an 18-year-old’s attention span when that first in-season team meeting runs 45 minutes with no break as Bill meticulously details the scouting report for Wake Forest’s offense, defense and special teams,” the exec added.
(Photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The story of the greatest players in NFL history. In 100 riveting profiles, top football writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NFL in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NFL history.
