Coaching legend Bill Belichick may be one step closer to getting back on the sidelines, but not where many would have predicted he’d end up.
Belichick interviewed this week for the head coaching job at North Carolina, Inside North Carolina reported Thursday.
The six-time Super Bowl champion coach is said to be one of several candidates the school has spoken with since it fired Mack Brown on Nov. 26.
Belichick spoke with North Carolina officials multiple times about the position, The Athletic reported.
Bill Belichick, former NFL coach, looks on during the game between the Washington Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines. Getty Images
Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann also have interviewed with North Carolina, but Belichick instantaneously becomes the biggest name connected to the vacancy.
The Athletic indicated there had been no decision on whom UNC wanted to hire for the job.
A separate report by The News and Observer’s Andrew Carter suggested Belichick’s interest in the position is “high and genuine” and that school officials were blown away during the interview.
However, Belichick’s age (72) and lack of experience in college football would make the hiring “extremely unlikely.”
Expectations had been that Belichick would return to coaching — though some recent reporting indicated his relationship with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson could play a factor in his future on the sidelines — and many believed it would be at the NFL level.
Even recently, Belichick’s name started to appear in connection with a potential opening in Jacksonville if the Jaguars decide to move on from Doug Pederson.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the sideline at MetLife Stadium. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Belichick coached the Patriots for 24 seasons before the two sides agreed to part ways after last season when the team went 4-13 in a disastrous year for New England.
The future Hall of Fame head coach interviewed for the Falcons vacancy shortly after the split from the Pats, but the job ultimately went to Raheem Morris, who was the Rams’ defensive coordinator before being hired in Atlanta.
Until Thursday, it wasn’t believed that Belichick was connected to any college coaching openings.
Belichick has publicly focused on his multiple media ventures during the 2024 football season.
Bill Belichick, left, talks with Peyton Manning, right, at the 2024 Manning Passing Academy. Mikey DiLullo / USA TODAY NETWORK
The once rough-and-tumble coach, who often kept the media at arm’s length during his coaching days, has become a regular on “The Pat McAfee Show,” has been hosting a podcast with Underdog Fantasy, appears on the CW’s “Inside the NFL” and even joined Instagram.
Belichick’s relationship with Hudson has been tabloid fodder since it became public knowledge over the summer after TMZ broke the story of the love affair, though the two reportedly have been quietly dating since 2022.
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson enter the field before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
In mid-October, a report by The Daily Mail suggested that Belichick was at a “bit of a crossroads” due to his happiness with the relationship with the former college cheerleader 48 years his junior.
A report by The Athletic the following month quoted a source as saying that “coaching is in his blood,” indicating that Belichick wasn’t running from the idea of returning to a football sideline in 2025.