CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Bill Belichick cracked a few jokes, held up an old UNC sweatshirt that belonged to his father and vowed to bring a professional model to North Carolina in his introductory news conference Thursday as the Tar Heels’ new head coach.

Belichick was greeted with a standing ovation as he entered the room to address a packed crowd of media and UNC supporters, including newly inducted College Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers.

In many ways, it felt surreal — a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, a coaching giant, sitting on a podium at Kenan Memorial Stadium, with Carolina blue seats just outside the suite doors.

Belichick, who spent his entire career in the NFL, said he always wanted to coach in college.

“It just never really worked out,” he said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so that was fine, but this is a dream come true. I grew up playing college football with my dad. Growing up, all I knew was college football.”

His father, Steve, was an assistant coach for the Tar Heels from 1953 to 1955. During his opening remarks, UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts pulled out a copy of the 1954 North Carolina Media Guide and read an excerpt about Steve Belichick that ended with an “a” line about his 2-year-old son, William Steven. “Coach, welcome back to Carolina,” Roberts said.

He presented Belichick with a gray, short-sleeved hoodie, the coach’s trademark. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham then pulled out a suit jacket with the sleeves torn off, another ode to Belichick. At that point, Belichick said he had his own gear and pulled out a white hoodie that his father had worn during his time at Carolina.

“You can tell I liked it,” Belichick said. “I kept it for a long time.

“It’s great to come back to Carolina and go back to the environment that I really grew up in. When you’re little, you can’t remember everything. I was too young to remember many things in Carolina, but when I was growing up, you heard the same story over and over again. A story I always heard was, “Billy’s first words were, ‘Beat Duke’.”

This sentence caused laughter and applause from the enthusiastic supporters in the hall. Belichick, 72, is making his first foray into college football after working in the NFL in some capacity from 1975 until he and the Patriots parted ways after the 2023 season.

He replaces Mack Brown, 73, the winningest coach in school history. Brown, who was fired after a 6-6 season, finished his second stint at the school with a record of 44-33 over six years and 113-79-1 overall with the Tar Heels.

“It’s better than working,” Belichick said when asked why he wanted to return to coaching at his age after a year off. “My father told us, ‘If you love what you do, it’s not work.’ I love what I do. I love interacting with the players, game planning and working with young kids – it’s great to be in that environment every day.”

He was also asked if he would return to the NFL if he had immediate success in college.

“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said. “I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. I’m good to go.”

Belichick said Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who was an assistant with the Patriots from 2014 to 2016, will serve as general manager of the Tar Heels football program. He also said he would retain UNC interim coach Freddie Kitchens, the former Cleveland Browns head coach.

North Carolina has been playing football for 136 years, but the last ACC championship was in 1980. Football has largely taken a backseat to basketball, but the inclusion of Belichick represents a new era.

Although the numbers have not been disclosed, his hiring represents a significant investment in football.

“In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, ‘The future is not what it used to be,’ and we are embarking on a whole new football operation,” Cunningham said. “We can’t wait for CB to take the lead for us.”

Many of Thursday’s questions revolved around how his NFL experience now translates to a college football model that more closely resembles the NFL – with the transfer portal, NIL and upcoming revenue sharing that will serve as a salary cap.

Belichick said the head coach/general manager model he brings will help transform UNC into a professional organization.

“When I talk about a pro program, I would say based on my experience what we did in terms of training, developing players, running pro systems and pro techniques,” Belichick said. “So when the players leave here, it’s not about switching from wishbone to professional offensive player. It will be similar terminology, similar techniques and fundamentals, similar training, similar preparation techniques that have proven to be very successful for me over the years.” Other college teams use them or not, some do, some don’t, but I just know that they will prepare the players for it.

“So with the general manager-head coach model, it’s a similar situation for evaluating high school kids and college transfer portal players. NFL teams evaluate college players and NFL free agent players. So again there are some similarities.”

Belichick also said the time he spent in Washington, where his son Steve served as defensive coordinator under Jedd Fisch, also prepared him for what was to come. He said Washington was modeled after a professional program and that gave him ideas.

He also noted that he is getting a lot of calls from coaches across all conferences – from the Big Ten, ACC and SEC – about recent rule changes that have shifted the game more toward the NFL – from the 2-minute warning to helmet rules. to-helmet communication and the use of tablets on the side.

As for recruiting, Belichick said he’s looking forward to convincing players to come to North Carolina and recruit nationally.

“The recruiting process belongs to everyone,” he said. “Whatever helps our team, that’s what I want to do.”