Bill Belichick delivers clear verdict on Eagles denying Saquon Barkley a chance to break 40-year NFL record

North Carolina coach Bill Belichick has offered his two cents on Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley missing a chance to write his name in NFL history.

Barkley finished the 2024 regular season with 2,005 rushing yards, 101 yards short of breaking the single-season record Eric Dickerson set in 1984. He was rested by Philly in Week 18 against the New York Giants.

On Tuesday's edition of the "Let's Go" podcast, Belichick said he would have preferred to see Barkley play on Sunday, but the Eagles made a call that benefitted the team first.

""It's about championships," he said. "Individual records are nice, but that's when they come with championships. But I think you play for you're teammates and you play for your team and you play for championships. So, that's kinda the way I was brought up and the way I looked at it."

The Eagles beat the Giants 20-13 without Barkley and a few more of their starters. Philly had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

The Eagles will square off against the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round on Sunday.

Bill Belichick plans to create a pipeline to get players into NFL at UNC

North Carolina football HC Bill Belichick - Source: Imagn

Bill Belichick was hired by North Carolina in December. However, just before he signed on the dotted line, Belichick outlined his plans for the college program he planned to coach.

“If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability,” Belichick said about 48 hours before UNC hired him.

“It would be a professional program ... training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques...that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level, and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football.”

Belichick served as the New England Patriots coach from 2000 to 2023 and helped them win 17 AFC East titles, along with six Super Bowls. He also won two Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.

It will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick fares at the collegiate level after leaving his mark in the NFL.