During his time as an NFL coach and coordinator, Bill Belichick won eight Super Bowl titles — two with the New York Giants as defensive coordinator and six as head coach of the New England Patriots. After parting ways with the Patriots following the 2023 season, Belichick has been trying to find his way back to the gridiron.
On Monday, Dec. 9, he confirmed on the Pat McAfee show that he had a “couple of good conversations” with the University of North Carolina, who are looking for a head coach. Discussing the due diligence he’s done to prepare for possibly taking his first college coaching job, Belichick spoke about several topics.
Bill Belichick on High School Recruitment
After the NCAA transfer portal opened on Monday (Dec. 9), North Carolina’s search for a head coach has sped up. When asked about evaluating high school players during recruitment and how that process might differ from college recruiting, Belichick talked about projecting what a high school player’s future could look like in college:
“You know, there’s a big level of development from players who are 16-17, in that range, compared to 20-21-year-olds coming to the NFL. There’s still a level of development, but thinking in high school, you just have a projection.
“Generally speaking, most high schools wear the best player, right? Quarterback or maybe running back. You put your best guy there, that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where the players gonna play in college, but in high school programs, that’s where generally the best players go.”
He then referred to former Alabama coach Nick Saban’s recruiting style:
“You know, coach Saban had tremendous amount of success, as we all know, in his career taking wide receivers and moving them to corner, who then became first-, second-round draft choices.”
Projecting how an athlete’s physique will grow by the time they are ready to enter the NFL is an important part of the process, according to Belichick: “Certainly, the alignment — you know a lot of those kids at 17 aren’t the men that they are in the National Football League when they get to 25-26 years old, just physically mature.
“It’s just part of the natural growth for that age of the kids, so I think the kid’s frame and his athleticism and you kinda gotta picture what’s that gonna look like when it fills out. So, sure, that would be something that I haven’t done a lot of, but that would be a big part of the projection element of recruiting as well as whatever the school and team has to offer.”
"I think the projection element is a lot different when you're recruiting for College Football..
I learned a lot from the time I spent in Washington this season" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/hls6wkiMyt
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 9, 2024
Belichick has met with officials at UNC twice, with his last interview lasting five hours. ESPN reported on Dec. 9 that Belichick might have an answer from them by the end of the week.
If it doesn’t come to fruition, he may turn back to the NFL, as the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants are reportedly keeping an eye on his availability.