No final chapter for Bill Belichick in the NFL? Feels like a rip off | Matt Vautour

That’s it?

Bill Belichick is really gone from our lives forever? This doesn’t feel right.

There should be at least one more NFL chapter. Another act. He wanted to bring his group of well-known Patriots coaching friends together for another building effort. Another attempt to become a Super Bowl contender. Chicago? Jacksonville? Dallas? Who cares?

Bill Belichick was starting over with something he had to prove, and a record that was on the line would be great theater no matter what city it was in. Bill vs. Time. Like Tom Brady in Tampa or Roger Clemens in Toronto.

Whether he succeeded or not, it would be an incredibly compelling story. But it was ripped out from under our feet.

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Instead we get this. It feels like they canceled a great TV show while leaving the main conflict unresolved. What if Breaking Bad was canceled before Walter White was discovered? We are being ripped off.

Belichick taking over as head coach at North Carolina is interesting on a national level, but here it’s just disappointing.

It’s an epilogue. There are great coaches in college football. True legends for sure. But Belichick doesn’t have time to become one. His tenure will be like one of the countless transfers he now has to oversee as coach – whatever influence he has will not last long enough to create a real foundation for anyone who follows him.

I can’t remember what Bill Walsh accomplished at Stanford because it doesn’t matter. His legacy was the 49ers NFL dynasty. Unless Bill Belichick wins a national championship at UNC, the first line of his obituary will read:

“Bill Belichick, head coach of the Patriots, who won the Super Bowl six times, etc. etc.”

Outside Chapel Hill, they view Belichick as a carpetbagger who thinks he can just get into college football and be successful. This sport is sacred in Texas and the South and Midwest. Bigger than baseball, much bigger than hockey and at least on par with the NBA.

Unfortunately, it never caught on here. Boston College hosts bowl games almost every year and few people ever get to name their starting quarterback or any other Eagle player.

Assuming Belichick’s time at Carolina is short-lived, it’s hard to say what bar he’s aiming for. Does he have to make it to the College Football Playoff?

Even if he does, it’s hard to know how much credit to give the head coach given the changing face of college football. He could be great at preparing and strategizing, but if he doesn’t have enough NIL money, he may not have the horses to surpass Miami, Clemson or SMU.

UNC has always been better than average, but rarely great at football. Chapel Hill is home to soccer until the elite men’s basketball program begins in late fall.

A large group of Patriots fans will likely tune in on Aug. 30 when the Tar Heels host TCU in Chapel Hill, a week before the start of the NFL season. But after that, they’re unlikely to care. Fall Saturdays in New England are dedicated to gardening or golfing, while Sundays are dedicated to football.

Under the ACC’s current scheduling model, UNC will play Boston College just once in the next six seasons – in 2028 in Chapel Hill. Unless they change the schedule format, Belichick could return to New England in a power blue hoodie in 2031 at the earliest — and that’s not guaranteed 79. Seventy-nine.

He will be out of sight and out of mind for the New Englanders.

That wouldn’t have been true if he had gotten an NFL job. And at some point, some NFL teams will regret not at least giving Belichick a chance. Some team makes a bad hire and wonders:

Would Bill Belichick have been better?

There is no turning around. At his age, this is his last appearance.

So that’s it.

No final chase for Don Shula’s record.

There’s no way to know whether Belichick can build a playoff team without Tom Brady.

No return to Gillette Stadium with a new team against Robert Kraft and Jerod Mayo.

He’s on Duke’s trail. Or Wake Forest or NC State. Or to another place that we don’t care about.

That’s a pretty big disappointment.

Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.X