Bill Belichick will be UNC’s new head football coach
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Bill Belichick will be UNC’s new head football coach

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

MANCHESTER, N.H. –

From the NFL to the ACC, former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is heading back to college.

The University of North Carolina announced Wednesday that Belichick will be its new head football coach.

The move surprised many as the professional football coach brings his decades of NFL experience to the collegiate level.

“I am excited about the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill. I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured that time,” Belichick said. “I have always wanted to coach in college and now I am excited to build the soccer program at Chapel Hill.”

UNC said Belichick agreed to a five-year contract, just days after Belichick confirmed he had had “good discussions” with the university’s chancellor.

The deal still needs to be approved by the board of trustees and governors.

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If approved, Belichick will replace Mack Brown, who was fired in November after a loss to rival North Carolina State.

Belichick will face a challenge as UNC hasn’t won an ACC football title since 1980.

Sports analysts said the move was unexpected.

“He made an audible signal, right. He’s going to college. And another program that isn’t necessarily at the top is UNC. It’s a very good program, but it’s not Alabama. It’s not Notre Dame. So it’s an interesting move,” said Mike McCann, director of the Sports Law Institute at UNH Law. “But it’s also, I think, a sign of where college sports are going, which is that the line between college, particularly major college football, and professional sports is really disappearing. It’s kind of merging everything with professional sports and I think it’s consistent with that.”

Tom Brady, Belichick’s longtime quarterback in New England, congratulated his former coach on social media.

“Congratulations, coach. The Tar Heel is about to become a thing,” Brady said.

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