Bill Belichick, the former NFL/New England Patriots coach who holds the records for the most playoff wins by a head coach (31), the most Super Bowl appearances by any individual (12), Most Super Bowl wins as an NFL Coach (8) has decided to go back to college…and coach at the University of North Carolina. But will the college players accept his old school style in “the Portal” era?
The Mainstream Sports Media Pundits Are Betting Bill Belichick Will Fail
Many a mainstream sports pundit has predicted Belichick’s “old school’ coaching style will be his downfall at UNC. But these critics are highly mistaken! Certainly some college football prospects, with a heightened sense of importance, will not matriculate at Carolina. But that type of player is not the type of recruit Belichick and staff will be courting for their new “pro-style” program.
Just to review a bit of history, while in the NFL, Bill Belichick and the Patriots played in nine Super Bowls, winning six. They had 19 consecutive winning seasons, 17 division titles, and played in 13 AFC Championship Games. Belichick, who spent his entire career in the NFL has 302 wins, second only to Don Shula (328). With all that said, what young high school prospect wouldn’t want to play for college football for Coach Belichick?
But the Pundits claim that Belichick’s coaching style is out of touch with the current generation of college and high school athletes. They say reports of his yelling at players in the NFL, while coaching the New York Giants and the New England Patriots won’t cut it with college players. These talking heads state players will simply use “the portal” and transfer out at the first sign of fireworks directed towards them.
But this will work to Belichick’s advantage. If a disgruntled player leaves the team, that’s one less problem child Coach Belichick and staff will have to worry about. Belichick can use “the portal” to separate the wheat from the chaff, eventually creating his own football culture and making the University of North Carolina one of the strongest programs in the country!
So Why did Bill Belichick return to college Football?
Coach Belichick stated this week that he had always wanted to coach in college:
“It just never really worked out…Had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK, but this is a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad. As a kid, all I knew was college football.”
Steve Belichick, Bill’s father, was an assistant coach for North Carolina from 1953 to 1955. While being introduced to the North Carolina student body at a rally this week, Belichick said:
“It’s great to come back home to Carolina and back into the environment that I really grew up in. When you’re little, you don’t remember everything. I was too young to remember a lot of things at Carolina, but as I grew up, you hear the same story over and over and over again. One story I always heard was, ‘Billy’s first words were, ‘Beat Duke!’”
The Pundits Are Betting Bill Belichick is Biding His Time Until the Right Pro Opportunity Comes Along
When asked whether he would return to the NFL if he is successful in college, Belichick immediately responded:
“I didn’t come here to leave…I feel like doing it a long time. I’m good to go.”
Michael Lombardi, an assistant with the Patriots from 2014 to 2016, and a former NFL League Executive, will serve as the “general manager” of the Tar Heels’ football program. In that way Belichick can focus on coaching and closing recruiting deals. Belichick has elected to retain the services of UNC interim coach Freddie Kitchens, a former Cleveland Browns head coach and close friend of Coach Belichick.
The University of North Carolina signed Belichick to a five-year deal showing their intent to return to a program with National prominence. Coach Belichick’s five year contract runs through December 2029. It is worth $10 million per year. The reported breakdown reveals only a $1 million base salary, but $9 million in “supplemental income”with three years of the deal guaranteed.
Belichick could also receive bonuses of $3.5 million per season structured on the overall regular-season win/loss record, ACC championship game appearances and bowl game selections. While Belichick could also receive bonuses for his programs final NCAA ranking in the final CFP poll and “Coach of the Year” awards, it is interesting to note the contract contains a bonus for the team’s overall academic standing…a clause showing both the University and Coach Belichick’s commitment to academic excellence.
Every High School Prospect, In His Right-Mind Will Want to Play For One of the “Greatest Coaches of All Time-Bill Belichick
While the mainstream media sports pundits question whether Belichick’s NFL experience will be capable of successful implementation in college football, it should be noted that the “Pro program” that Belichick will implement is a proven program. The head coach/general manager model he is bringing to North Carolina will help transform UNC football program into a professional organization, training college players in the same way NFL teams train their players. In commenting on his program, Coach Belichick stated:
“When I say a pro program, I would say through my experience, what we did in terms of training, developing players, running pro systems, pro techniques…So when the players leave here, this isn’t going from the wishbone to a pro offense. It will be similar terminology, similar techniques and fundamentals, similar training, similar preparation techniques that have been very successful for me through the years…I just know that these will prepare the players for that.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yMzHf4g4es
To sum it up, with Coach Belichick’s “pro system” future UNC pro prospects will have a leg-up on other NFL college prospects from other schools without such programs. So the question posed by the pundits answers itself: What High School prospect, in his right-mind, hoping someday to make the Pros, wouldn’t want to attend UNC and play football in a “professional program” run by one of the “Greatest Coaches of All Time…Bill Belichick.
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