Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been in the media spotlight for much of the current NFL season.

While Belichick interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons in January, the franchise decided against making an offer to a coach. Belichick didn’t seem to attract much interest from any other NFL team, but his regular appearances on ESPN’s “ManningCast” and CW’s “Inside the NFL” have kept him relatively close to football.

But the coach, who won the Super Bowl six times, still seems interested in coaching.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week, Belichick confirmed that he has had discussions with the North Carolina Tar Heels about their head coaching vacancy.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians before a game against the Chicago Bears at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, October 24, 2021. (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

While it remains unclear whether Belichick will be on the sidelines in Chapel Hill next season, another former NFL coach spoke out about the evolving situation.

Bruce Arians, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in the 2021 Super Bowl, admitted he was “very surprised” that his contemporary showed interest in coaching at the college level. Arians also gave Belichick some advice.

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“I am very, very surprised. I was sure he would wait until the NFL recruiting process was complete,” Arians said during a recent appearance on the “Scoop City” podcast. “There are some good things about going back to college, but I had no patience with freshmen. I certainly don’t have patience with freshmen.”

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick blows his whistle during a practice on September 18, 2019 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Arians and Belichick are both 72 years old. Arians left coaching and moved into an advisory role with the Bucs in 2022.

“If I’m going to give Bill any advice, you better have a lot of patience,” Arians said. “Dealing with newbies making money, but now dealing with newbies making money? It must be ridiculous to try to coach these guys.”

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gives instructions from the sideline during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers on October 31, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Arians’ coaching career began at the collegiate level. He spent time working for Mississippi State, Alabama and other programs.

If Belichick ends up at UNC or another college program, he will have to carefully navigate Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. The NCAA transfer portal opened earlier this week. NIL and the portal have drastically changed the college football landscape in recent years.

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Belichick shared some details about the makeup of a college program if he were a head coach.

“If I were to go to a college program, the college program would be a connection to the NFL for the players that would have the opportunity to play in the NFL,” he said. “It would be a professional program – training, nutrition, programming, coaching and techniques that would translate to the NFL.”

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