3 reasons why Bill Belichick to UNC football is a terrible move

It looks like Bill Belichick is heading to North Carolina. The NFL legend apparently has made known a series of demands that are literally voluminous, and the Tar Heels have agreed, which begins one of the most unlikely college coaching tenures.

First, the obvious. Bill Belichick is a football genius. Even at 72, he can coach circles around the best college football coaches in the nation. His bonafides are well established, and Belichick has nothing to prove.

However, there's the other thing -- North Carolina hiring Belichick is a terrible idea. Here are three reasons why:

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Three reasons why UNC hiring Bill Belichick is a terrible move

Even successful coaches like Nick Saban haven't been able to replicate success at one level with success at another. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

#1 He's just too old

The obvious thing here is first. At age 72, Belichick would become the oldest coach in FBS football. He would be over three years old than his next closest competitor, Kirk Ferentz of Iowa. Sure, Belichick was still coaching in the NFL in 2023, but he's too old for college football.

Already, many around the sports have indicated how bizarre the idea is: the notoriously recalcitrant Belichick going into living rooms and pitching his coaching to high school seniors. Similarly unbelivable are notions of Belichick being patient with media members and delivering quippy press conferences.

Even in an era of professional excellence, Belicheck was an aging lion who was very clear that he did things his way. He's simply too old to try to learn new tricks. After all, he's being hired to replace Mack Brown, who being a year old, was too old for college football. Even if his coaching is highly regarded, the game won't change to accomodate Belichick.

#2 Belichick doesn't know college football

It may seem quaint, but the bottom line is that despite his decades of professional success, Belichick has never coached in college football. As much as the sport is approaching the notion of being a minor league version of professional football, the college game is different.

When Belichick is tired of his roster, he can't use trades or free agency to assemble a new one. One former player for Belichick in the NFL called him potentially "the worst college coach I could ever imagine." The player discussed his former coach's penchant for negative enforcement and said that he wondered how quickly Belichick's college players would hit the transfer portal.

There's a reason that most successful coaches who try to leap from college to pro or vice versa fail. It didn't work for Nick Saban or Urban Meyer or Chip Kelly. It probably won't for Belichick.

#3 Belichick will ruin his legacy

The final reason is simply selfish, but it's legitimate. As he was, Belichick was secure to be remembered as perhaps the greatest football coach ever, but that's very uncertain now.

How much do fans enjoy remembering Michael Jordan as a Washington Wizard or Hank Aaron as a punchless Milwaukee Brewer or Brett Favre on a lengthy series of downhill slides in his final seasons?

A career like Belichick's is legendary. And an ill-advised return to coaching would taint his legacy. While Belichick didn't ask to become a legend whose career is like something from a museum, it's what he got anyway.

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