Bill Belichick is already recruiting at UNC as he lands first huge transfer coup one week into his new job

Less than a week into his new gig as North Carolina’s head coach, Bill Belichick is already making moves. 

The 72-year-old inked a five-year deal to become the next UNC head coach last Wednesday and the Belichick era is already underway in Chapel Hill. 

Belichick secured his first transfer portal coup Monday when former Holy Cross offensive lineman Christo Kelly committed to UNC, the player announced. 

Kelly, a redshirt senior, had been at Holy Cross since 2020. He made the All-Patriot League Third Team in 2023 as a standout interior offensive lineman, according to Sports Illustrated. 

Marking the first transfer under the former New England Patriots head coach, Kelly will likely bring experience to Belichick’s Tar Heels. 

Belichick had teased an influx of transfer activity earlier on Monday when he made his weekly guest appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. 

Belichick secured his first transfer portal coup Monday when former Holy Cross offensive lineman Christo Kelly (second left) committed to UNC

‘We’ve been talking to a number of players and we have more coming in this week as part of the portal, that closes on Sunday, so we’ve got guys coming in pretty much every day this week,’ Belichick said on the ESPN program. 

‘We’re selling the program but, quite honestly, we’ve had a lot of players and agents are coming to us saying that ‘We wanna be part of the program.” 

Despite criticism and skepticism over Belichick’s foray into collegiate football, the former NFL coach appears to be embracing the process.

‘It’s fun, and it’s great to be at North Carolina, and great to be at this great university and back in the game. We’re spending money, not as much as we spent in the NFL,’ Belichick continued. 

‘It’s a new landscape in college football, but honestly not too different—it’s different, but this part of the process isn’t too different from what we’ve dealt with in the NFL.’ 

Belichick had been out of work since calling time on his legendary 24-year reign as New England Patriots head coach at the start of the year and failing to land a top gig elsewhere around the NFL.

He finally landed in Chapel Hill last week following shock reports of multiple interviews with the school in New York earlier this month.  

Belichick and the university agreed to a five-year deal worth $50million, making him one of the highest-paid college coaches on an annual salary basis. His pay is also a massive jump from the $5m salary UNC paid Mack Brown in his final season in charge of the program.

It marks his first-ever college coaching job after close to half a century in the NFL, where he won six Super Bowls as a head coach for the Patriots.