Bill Belichick arrives for his first day as UNC head coach after signing $50m deal to move into college football

Legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick has touched down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for his first day as the Tar Heels head football coach. 

The 72-year-old Belichick made the move from the professional ranks to college football for the first time Wednesday, taking the helm at UNC after nearly 50 years in the NFL. 

Belichick will be introduced at North Carolina later on Thursday, with a 2 p.m. introductory press conference scheduled.

Belichick signed a five-year, $50million contract with the Tar Heels, making him in the top 10 of the highest-paid college football coaches.

Belichick had been out of a job in football since being fired by the New England Patriots in January after 24 years at the helm. 

Belichick has won eight Super Bowls in his career, with six coming as a head coach. The other two were as the New York Giants defensive coordinator. 

Belichick was shockingly named the new head football coach of the Tar Heels on Wednesday

Belichick comes to UNC having never coached in the college ranks in his illustrious career

Belichick is the oldest active head coach in the FBS, replacing the person who previously had that title, 73-year-old Mack Brown. 

North Carolina finished the regular season 6-6, with several of the teams stars hitting the transfer portal since the end of November. 

Belichick’s ability to recruit will quickly be tested as he builds a roster for 2025. His main targets will be retaining as much of the talent from this season’s roster and swaying players from other schools to come to Chapel Hill. 

UNC also has not officially signed four-star quarterback prospect Bryce Baker, with Belichick needing a successful signal caller to have any success at the school.   

Belichick had been thought to be positioning himself to take one of the NFL vacancies coming this offseason. 

Yet, with the typical control Belichick has had as a combined head coach and de-facto general manager, many teams would not give that power to someone with Belichick’s age. 

Now, he finds that level of control at the college level in a move that is still sending shockwaves through the sports world.