"He's a contrarian": Bill Belichick's UNC move not random or without thought, argues NFL Insider

Bill Belichick agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract with the University of North Carolina to be the Tar Heels' next head coach. Belichick had an illustrious career in the NFL, winning six championships with the New England Patriots during his tenure from 2000 to 2023.

However, Belichick and the Patriots mutually parted ways after the 2023 season. He was interviewed to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons but nothing happened further. As a result, he spent this season on the sidelines. On Wednesday, it was announced that Belichick signed a deal to take his talents to the college football circuit at North Carolina.

NFL Insider Adam Schefter discussed Belichick's new contract and what he brings to UNC on Thursday's "Get Up" on ESPN. He spoke about how Belichick is a contrarian and did not decide to shift his focus to college football randomly or without thought.

"When the school idea comes up, some people might not think it's natural," Schefter said. "But Bill Belichick has always been willing to go against the grain. He is a contrarian. When everyone's going one way, he's happy to go another and at a time where we see a lot of college coaches trying to flee the game because it's become more like a business, we see Belichick going the opposite way to the college game."

"He did not trust NFL people to do the right thing during this head coaching cycle. He new that he could get this job so when there was a five year agreement being waved at him at a place where his father was an assistant coach in the 1950s, it became natural."

Bill Belichick's first job as a college football head coach

Despite being a professional football coach since 1975, and a head coach since 1991, Bill Belichick has never coached a college football team. Instead, he has spent the entirety of his career in the NFL. Most famously, he spent over two decades with the New England Patriots. However, before that, he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for five years in the early 90s.

Although Belichick is the most successful NFL coach of all time, it will be interesting to see how that success translates to college football. College football is different from the NFL, and the talent disparity is larger, so Belichick will need to adapt to have success.