"He's gonna be 74": CFB insider pokes holes in Bill Belichick's UNC plans amid Raiders rumors

Bill Belichick is settling into his new position as the coach of North Carolina's football program. He's making visits to recruits and has even joined social media as a way to connect with the younger generation.

Bruce Feldman, of Fox Sports and The Athletic, gave a couple of reasons why Belichick could change his mind and return to the professional ranks. Several NFL teams are reportedly interested in Belichick despite his recent Tar Heels hiring.

"The way this contract was set up, you know, for a year from now, it was gonna be a $1 million buyout, which is not prohibitive at all," Feldman said Wednesday on "The Rich Eisen Show." "But you're sitting there going, 'OK, but if he waits another year, he's gonna be 74 before the next NFL season.'

"I think Bill Belichick will have success in the ACC. ... I think after about a year of this or two years of this, he will be so disgusted by what it takes to be a college football head coach that he'll be like, 'I don't need this.'"

The more pertinent question, Feldman added, is if Belichick would already be annoyed enough with having to keep up with the times that he makes a 180-degree turn and decides to head back to the pros.

Out of the six NFL teams with a coaching vacancy, one team in particular has expressed possible interest through a minority owner who has an established relationship with Belichick.

"Multiple NFL teams have inquired about whether legendary coach Bill Belichick would reconsider his move to college football — including the Raiders, whose new minority owner Tom Brady spoke recently with his old coach, per league sources," Pelissero posted Wednesday on X.

Pelissero quoted that post informing that Belichick's Tar Heels contract includes a $10 million buyout if he leaves before June 1 of this year.

"Everybody's trying to go through fine print to see if that even involves the NFL," Eisen said. "$10 million, it's not car ashtray money, but it's still in the realm of, 'I can get Bill Belichick. I'm gonna go get him.'"

Why would Tom Brady have waited to talk to Bill Belichick?

Bruce Feldman also wondered why Tom Brady wouldn't have spoken to Bill Belichick about a possible Raiders opening before the NFL's second all-time winningest coach made a pact with North Carolina.

"Tom Brady couldn't have talked to his old coach, like, two months ago?" Feldman asked. "It wasn't, like, all of a sudden — poof — Bill Belichick took the North Carolina job. There was like a run-up of about 10 days."

It would be more likely that Brady would've reached out to former Patriots teammate Mike Vrabel, Feldman thought. Vrabel, formerly Tennessee's coach, interviewed for a head coaching job with Chicago.