Bill Belichick is reportedly applying for the head coaching job at North Carolina

FOXBORO — Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could be heading to the college ranks for his next job, as he has reportedly interviewed for the head coaching job at North Carolina.

Inside Carolina was first to report that Belichick did an interview with the Tar Heels to open the show, which was later confirmed by several other media outlets. North Carolina fired Mack Brown last month after a 6-6 season and a 44-33 run over six years in Chapel Hill for the 73-year-old.

It’s an interesting and somewhat surprising move from Belichick, who is 72 and has never coached at the college level before. But since his 24-year career with the Patriots ended last year, he has insisted on getting back into coaching and is apparently exploring all options to get back on the sidelines.

Andrew Carter of The News and Observer reported that Belichick “blown them away” in the interview with the Tar Heels, but added that Belichick’s hiring remains unlikely given his age and lack of experience at the college level.

Bill Belichick has no college coaching experience

While Belichick is arguably the best coach to ever do this in the NFL – with six Super Bowl rings as head coach for the Patriots and two more as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants – he has never coached in college. He began his career in 1975 as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts and remained in the NFL until the end of his time in New England.

He’s made several media appearances over the last year, but this is the first time Belichick is interviewing for a job at the college level. It would be quite a change from the NFL with the transfer portal and the NIL, which are the reasons many of the NCAA members have started leaving their jobs. But Belichick should be able to bring a lot of recruiting muscle into the mix and could probably build a pretty solid team for the 2025 season.

Belichick also has a small connection to UNC, as his father, Steve, was an assistant coach at the school for three years from 1953 to 1955.

Are there jobs in the NFL for Bill Belichick?

Maybe the UNC interview is Belichick’s way of keeping his options open. Or maybe he has a good idea that an NFL job won’t be available to him in 2025.

Belichick would like to return to the NFL and get the 15 wins he needs to pass Don Shula on the league’s all-time wins list. However, he only interviewed for one job after leaving New England, and the Atlanta Falcons went with Raheem Morris to fill their vacancy. Belichick had offers to join the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams as defensive coordinator, but turned them down.

The New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears will be looking for a new head coach this offseason, and the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars could join them on Black Monday. The Dallas Cowboys were considered a potential landing spot for Belichick during the season, but owner Jerry Jones has hinted that Mike McCarthy may be getting a contract extension in recent weeks. So Belichick’s options would likely be limited again.

An NFL job could open up for Belichick at some point, but for now he’s keeping his options open to heading back to the sidelines. This includes exploring opportunities in the university ranks.