Bill Belichick Was Rejected By 2 NFL Teams Before Accepting UNC Job
Bill Belichick Was Rejected By 2 NFL Teams Before Accepting UNC Job
Bill Belichick’s decision to become the next head coach of the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) football team sent reverberations throughout the sports world.
Widely regarded as the greatest NFL coach of all time, Belichick was expected to either stay retired following his departure from the New England Patriots, or accept another pro job.
He did neither.
Instead, Belichick agreed to a deal with UNC that will pay him $10 million per year, for five years. Only the first three years of the contact are guaranteed, though.
Belichick will make twice what Mack Brown had previously made with the Tar Heels.
According to multiple reports, Belichick was rejected by 2 NFL teams prior his decision to join North Carolina.
The first was the Chicago Bears.
“The group deemed that the Chicago Bears were probably the most attractive job, but that team brass was unlikely to consider Belichick,” ESPN’s Seth Wickersham wrote.
“The group expects the same thing that most around the league do: that the Bears will go offense, hoping to give quarterback Caleb Williams a chance at a career, probably targeting Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.”
The second, surprisingly, was the New York Jets. The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini reported on Saturday that Belichick’s inner circle had informal conversations with New York, but ultimately nothing materialized.
Translation: he was spurned by the Jets, too.
The Jets organization was reportedly stunned to learn of Belichick’s interest. This revelation is particularly surprising considering Belichick’s infamous resignation as Jets head coach in 2000, which lasted less than 24 hours. His abrupt departure, famously scrawled on a napkin, marked the beginning of a two-decade-long rivalry between Belichick’s Patriots and the Jets.
That just left North Carolina as a potential landing spot for Belichick.
Nick Saban Expresses Doubts About Bill Belichick At North Carolina
While Belichick is undeniably a great football coach, the pro game is much different than the college game. And recruiting is a big reason why.
This week, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said as much.
“The difference in college is, how do you bring guys to the team? It’s different than drafting guys than it is to have to recruit them because recruiting is like a full-time relationship building 365 days a year, in terms of not only evaluating the players that you want but creating the relationships with them to get them,” Saban said.
“Now everybody says it’s like the NFL because they’re making money now, but it really still takes you to be able to sell them that you’re going to develop them. And I think Bill will be able to do that. But the biggest thing that will be a challenge for him is the time that you have to spend recruiting, making phone calls, talking to parents and all those types of things to get the kind of players that you need.”
That said, Saban remained optimistic.
“I do think Bill will do a great job there of getting good players and he’ll do a great job of developing those players. The biggest adjustment for him will be the time spent recruiting,” he said.
This experiment will be a fascinating one. How Belichick ultimately performs at North Carolina will have a last impact on his football legacy.
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
