Bill Belichick Reportedly Desires to Win National Championship at UNC

In one of the biggest hirings in College Football history, the North Carolina Tar Heels appointed legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick as their new head coach, replacing another legendary coach, Mack Brown. On Friday, more details about how this move happened came to light.

According to reports, this move came about due to political connections. This all started with then US Senator and now Secretary of State Marco Rubio who phoned North Carolina-based Senator Tom Tillis and said the following:

"(Rubio): There's a chance Belichick would come to Chapel Hill. He said, 'He wants a school with a great academic reputation, and he wants to try to build a program to bring them a national championship. (Source: ESPN) "

The report from ESPN reveals that Tillis made more phone calls to higher-ups in the North Carolina state government and those with strong connections to the Tar Heels. The rest is history, with Belichick signing with the team in late December. While this story highlights the political influence behind this hire, it also shows us the larger plans that Belichick has for North Carolina. He wants to build a program that is going to win a national championship, a challenging ask for a football program like North Carolina.

The Tar Heels are primarily known as one of the basketball blue bloods, not a football powerhouse. They have not won a conference title since the 1980 season when the ACC was smaller and weaker. Legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor played a significant role in that success.

Since then, they have not challenged the top ranks. This is much harder today, as the ACC is much stronger and has been dominated by the Clemson Tigers for a while. North Carolina can not even win the ACC, so thinking they'll compete against the likes of Alabama, Texas and Georgia is premature.

However, while this seems impossible, Bill Belichick has a strong reputation and appeal. This will help with recruitment, bringing in some of the best players. This is a good start in building a potential championship-winning side.

Bill Belichick was not the first choice

In that same report, it was revealed that Bill Belichick was not the first choice for the Tar Heels. Arthur Smith was.

"They were all hopeful they could lure Smith back to Chapel Hill, and then whether it was Belichick or anybody else, it would have been a moot point. Smith is who they wanted."

Smith played College Football at North Carolina before he went into coaching. His coaching career began at North Carolina before he moved to the NFL, most notably being the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Smith is currently the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers and will remain in this role, as Belichick is whom the Tar Heels went for.