This is an opinion column.

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Imagine my surprise when, in the course of a few hours, I learned that (A) Bill Belichick has a 24-year-old girlfriend and (B) Belichick and his lady love are headed to Chapel Hill.

Belichick is 72 years old, but the man clearly still has great ambitions.

UNC made it official on Wednesday. In a surprising move, the school hired Belichick as its football coach. However, it makes sense. In a year full of crazy headlines for the game, the grand finale of them all is here with only a few weeks left in December.

‘Tis the season.

Belichick has a reputation for being a prickly pear at press conferences, but apparently there’s much more to his inquisitive personality. And let me be very clear about what I mean by that. Belichick is 48 years older than his girlfriend.

The people of planet Earth apparently knew all about this unconventional relationship before this week. Not me. Belichick’s love life wasn’t really on my radar until I learned that the legendary NFL coach was serious about coaching at UNC.

Now it’s hard for me to think of anything else.

How will the conversation go during recruiting visits?

BILL: “Hi, I’m Bill Belichick. I train football here. We would love for your son to play for UNC.”

MOM: “Great. We can’t wait to take a walking tour of Chapel Hill. It’s so beautiful this time of year. Is this the student who will show us the campus?”

BILL: “No, that’s my girlfriend.”

Everyone knows that a college coach’s wife is an important part of the team. Miss Terry, for example, was the power behind the throne for coach Nick Saban. She did everything.

Since Saban and Belichick are friends, does that mean Miss Terry will be friends with Belichick’s girlfriend? Will they talk shop? Will Miss Terry be a mentor? I have so many questions.

I know football fans will be excited to see what UNC can do on the field with a coach who has won six Super Bowls, but I have to admit that I’m suddenly more interested in the other things. Will girlfriend Jordon Hudson, a former cheerleader, move to UNC with her boyfriend? She hinted at this when she posted on social media, “We’re in Chapel Hill.”

As everyone knows, the coaching life is tough on relationships. Will it work? Duke’s student section can only hope. No doubt they will enjoy enriching this new chapter of the Tobacco Road rivalry.

Belichick has never coached in college, but he says he loves college sports after growing up with it. Belichick’s father coached at the Naval Academy when Bill was young. But enough of the boring stuff. I can’t wait for Bill’s interview with Saban on ESPN. And what I mean by that is this. Will Saban ask his buddy Bill if people are confusing his girlfriend with a student at UNC?

It is already said that Belichick will fail as a college coach. Are these people not paying attention? Belichick clearly relates well to young people. He is 72 and his girlfriend is 24!

UNC football went from boring to crazy in a day.

But seriously, will Belichick turn UNC into a national championship contender? I won’t bet against him.

Major college football is now just another form of professional football. It’s all about money and getting players into the NFL. Belichick will recruit. I have no doubt about that. UNC is 6-6 this season, but Belichick can turn things around almost overnight.

The transfer portal opened on Monday. We’ll know next week or sooner if Belichick can make a college team.

People mocked Deion Sanders when he turned Colorado’s roster around, but Belichick is being celebrated for cleaning up at UNC and changing the culture. Remember when Paul Finebaum called Coach Prime irrelevant earlier this season? Finebaum changed his rhetoric with Coach Prime almost immediately. The college game is a brave new world and Belichick has been praised from the start.

But maybe there’s something more going on here than Belichick wanting to play in the college game for the first time in his career.

We’ve speculated for a few years that UNC would be an SEC target if another round of conference realignment reached college football. Will Belichick save or destroy the ACC?

Will Belichick be hired in Chapel Hill to get UNC into the SEC?

We can only hope.

Just some advice, Bill. Don’t bring the girlfriend, Joey Freshwater.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the leading sports columnist for Alabama Media Group and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”