Bill Belichick is head coach again.

Per Several reportsPresent Belichick has agreed to become the head coach at North Carolina. The Sporting reports that the contract is expected to be three years and $30 million.

The agreement between Belichick and the school comes after discussions between the two parties regarding the Tar Heels’ open coaching work became public a week ago.

Belichick, 72, replaces Mack Brown, who was fired after six seasons in his second stint as head coach in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels finished 6-6 in 2024. Run game coordinator and tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens will coach in the Fenway Bowl on December 28th.

Belichick parted ways with the New England Patriots following last season after 24 seasons in which he won six Super Bowl championships. He was expected to be a candidate for the seven head coaching openings in the offseason, but was only interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons ultimately chose Raheem Morris.

The New York Jets, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints currently have interim head coaches, but none of those teams have contacted Belichick about their openings, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. Another handful of teams could make postseason coaching changes, and it’s unclear whether Belichick would have been seriously considered by an NFL team that hasn’t yet made a move.

North Carolina is the top head coaching job this offseason at college football’s top level due to limited coaching moves between the power conference schools. If North Carolina is Belichick’s final head coaching stop, his pursuit of Don Shula’s record is now over. Belichick, who has 351 wins as an NFL head coach, is 18 wins away from Shula as the NFL’s all-time winningest coach.

Belichick is about eight months younger than the 73-year-old Brown, who was in his second stint as head coach of the Tar Heels. Belichick, meanwhile, has no experience as a college football coach. Although he grew up in the college game.

Belichick’s father was an assistant at Navy and coached at UNC from 1953 to 1955. His son Stephen is currently the defensive coordinator at Washington. He is a good friend of former Alabama coach Nick Saban, the winningest coach in modern college football history. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was also Belichick’s assistant with the Cleveland Browns.

The college football world has also changed significantly over the past five seasons. College football has become more like the NFL as players can make money off name, image and likeness deals – and starting in 2025, will earn money directly from schools while also having the option to transfer to another school without sitting out a season.

After reports surfaced that Belichick was in discussions with North Carolina officials about his blank bill, he confirmed those reports in a Dec. 9 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” Belichick said he met with UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts and discussed these changes in college football that have made the sport more similar to the NFL than ever before.

Additionally, Belichick indicated what type of resources he put into building a college program and what he would do to appeal to recruits who want to play in the NFL.

North Carolina announced it would fire Brown before its final game of the regular season. The program has had declining overall numbers over the past two seasons after a 9-5 campaign in 2022. UNC went 8-5 8-5 Georgia Tech in 2023 before a 2024 season after North Carolina gave up a 68-yard TD run with 16 seconds left in a tie game.

Although Clemson is still in the ACC and SMU made the College Football Playoff after a regular-season ACC title, there is an opening for North Carolina as Florida State is set to fly in 2024 and Miami has many key contributors in 2025 needs to be replaced. UNC is clearly hoping for Belichick’s success in the NFL and his ability to develop talent will be a hook in getting players to come to Chapel Hill.