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Carolina pulled off the improbable coaching coup for Bill Belichick.
Did anyone really think this could happen? And how will it go?
Now that it is official, the questions will mount.
For example, how will 20-year-olds respond to the next soon-to-be 73-year-old?
How long will it take Belichick to build a big winner at UNC?
Three years ago, this would have never happened. Since then the college game resembles the pro game with forms of free agency for players and compensation based on their worth.
What about the marked difference between running a professional football franchise and college program?
And on and on?
I am an opinionist who grew up in Boston and like everyone else from New England loved what the crusty Belichick built with the Patriots and Tom Brady over 20 years. Sure this is a gamble, but one that could change the culture of Carolina football for a long time.
Despite the age difference and ability chasm between NFL pros and college players, the Hoodie will run his program as he did the Patriots. The players won’t see much of him besides meetings, practices and games. He may never visit a recruit’s home.
Every other aspect of Carolina football will be handled by carefully selected staff members, such as new general manager Mike Lombardi, who has been a Belichick colleague and confidante for years and was involved in the negotiations with UNC board of trustees chairman John Preyer, who pushed hard for the hire.
Sure, he will need more NIL money that the school committed to before the deal was struck. But without having to break the bank, Belichick will attract many players based on his reputation and ability to pave their way into the NFL.
A quick turnaround for the program, which would not have been so easy a few years ago, can be helped immediately by identifying and signing dozens of players from the transfer portal.
Recruited freshmen will be much like rookies in the NFL, a few ready to play the first year but most needing some development time. They will get that through assistant coaching, strength and training staffs Belichick assembles. He has unlimited connections in the pro and college ranks to identify the best people to fill those positions.
How will he interact with the media? Not much.
Mack Brown’s 1-hour press conferences will be reduced to 20 minutes, if that long. A Wesleyan graduate and studious CEO, Belichick has won enough to regard the media as a necessary evil.
He will build a winning team, and likely win earlier than expected. What he did in the NFL could mean he knows a lot more than most college coaches. The next three years will bring a lot of buzz and excitement.
And, yes, some of the feedback has been about the head coach’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordan Hudson, a cheerleading champion who could wind up as an advisor in that role. People will talk a lot more about her if he doesn’t win.
Featured image via Associated Press/Steven Senne
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Look at positive energy and results achieved by Deon. It’s reported he achieves $250 million per year in economic development related to football activities including fan support for team and financial contributions in Boulder area. UNC football deserves local, state and national attention. It’s beginning now. Reporters are energized after years of woeful coverage. Hang on.
I like it. I thought it likely after an initial negative reaction that lasted about 1 hour. Then I woke up and smelled the 8 Super Bowl trophy’s that will now reside in Chapel Hill.
While I think it’s a gamble, it’s a small one. We could do far worse and unlikely any better. It’s already paying off as kids that were leaving are now staying.
My prediction is top Ten in the 2/3rd year. Maybe sooner with the pro player portal.