Bill Belichick ‘Very Surprised’ At Not Being Offered An NFL Head Coaching Job – But Might Accept UNC Offer To Help Out His Son – If It Comes

Following his 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots, nobody would have predicted Bill Belichick to have trouble finding a job.

Belichick, 72, holds the record for the most Super Bowls as a head coach (six), and led the Patriots to a 266-121 regular season record in his time there, including 19 consecutive winning seasons. He received NFL Coach of the Year honors three times in that span and held down the largest coaching contract in sports at $25 million a year.

After Tom Brady‘s departure and retirement in 2020, though, the Patriots fell into decline. Belichick was finally fired after a 4-13 season in 2023, and Jerod Mayo assumed the head coaching position in 2024.

Belichick was considered one of the top available coaches for ailing franchises such as the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans, all of which were looking for coaches following the 2023 season. Belichick interviewed with the Falcons – twice – but the team ultimately elected to hire Raheem Morris from the Rams.

“People need to adapt, and if they don’t… things can change,” said Patriots owner Robert Kraft, discussing the choice to fire Belichick, later adding, “I had given him so much power. He had full control over everything. And shame on me, I should’ve had some checks and balances better.”

Belichick is reportedly “very surprised” he hasn’t heard from NFL teams about coaching in 2025, despite three teams – the Jets, Saints and Bears – having vacancies, according to NBC Sports. One team that has reached out, though, is the University of North Carolina, which has been looking to hire since firing Mack Brown at the end of their season.

The Tar Heels finished 13th in the ACC this season, totaling a 6-6 record and a 3-5 conference record. A Belichick hiring would open the door to other former NFL hires, including potentially Matt Patricia and Ben McDaniels, in addition to capitalizing off his expertise and experience.

One factor for Belichick’s openness to college sports is likely a plan of succession. His son, Steve Belichick, currently serves as defensive coordinator for the University of Washington. Per Ollie Connolly of The Guardian, the elder Belichick is seeking “a guarantee that Stephen Belichick will be named the school’s coach in waiting,” which would be much easier to obtain than in the NFL.

Beyond that, a collegiate head coach generally has much more autonomy than one in the NFL, controlling a number of the responsibilities of an NFL general manager. That system would arguably be more familiar to Belichick than a traditional NFL system, given the amount of power he had in New England.

With this news, former Patriots Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman were asked on Fox NFL Kickoff whether they could imagine Belichick in a college program. All three issued emphatic no’s.

“I think there’s a lot of things he could do,” Brady said. “And obviously he’s tremendous—even showing his personality. But getting out there on the recruiting trail and dealing with all these college kids? That would be frightening.”

“Any time as a coach you join with an organization, whatever level it’s at, you just want a shared vision with that person,” said Belichick on The Pat McAfee Show, noting, “I don’t think it really matters where the program is.”

Belichick is expected to accept a UNC offer if one is extended.