Of all the crazy, unexpected twists and turns in this disaster of a Dallas Cowboys season, no one saw this coming. Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Belichick won’t be the next head coach of the team because he’s accepting a job at the University of North Carolina.
According to multiple reports, the architect and coach of the New England Patriots‘ six-Super Bowl dynasty has agreed to coach the Tar Heels and is finalizing details of his contract.
At 5-8 and realistically eliminated from the NFL Playoffs after last Monday night’s gut-punch loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Cowboys fans are already looking toward 2025 and their next head coach. While owner Jerry Jones has hinted that it’s “not crazy” to think that Mike McCarthy could receive a contract extension after the season, most experts believe he will not be retained and are already putting together a list of successor candidates.
Belichick was near the top, joined by former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and former Cowboys’ Super Bowl-winning cornerback Deion Sanders.
Since parting ways with New England last January, Belichick has spent the season serving as a TV analyst. But then came the shocking news last week that he had interviewed for Mack Brown’s old job at UNC. Conventional wisdom pointed to Belichick wanting to return to the NFL to get the 26 wins needed to pass Don Shula as the most successful coach in league history.
But apparently the 72-year-old who is dating a 28-year-old former cheerleader is indeed going back to college at “Chapel Bill.”
During an appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee show, Belichick earlier this week confirmed that he was at least interested in the job.
“I’ve talked to Chancellor (Lee) Roberts and we’ve had a couple good conversations,” Belichick said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Belichick spent five hours Sunday interviewing with Roberts, seemingly a big time investment and indication of the seriousness of the talks. Belichick, however, wasn’t in a hurry to divulge any more details.
“Yeah let’s just leave it at that,” he said. “I don’t want to give up too much information. I’ll lose my press conference … I want to get my press conference aura back.”
Belichick’s father, Steve, coached at Chapel Hill from 1953-55 and he this season has repeatedly said that, thanks to NIL, college football is “closer to the NFL than ever before.”
