BOSTON – After spending the last five decades coaching in the NFL, Bill Belichick is now off to the college game as the University of North Carolina’s new head coach. This is an interesting and surprising move considering Belichick is just 15 wins away from becoming the NFL’s all-time wins leader.

Accepting the head coaching job in Chapel Hill likely ends Belichick’s quest to surpass Don Shula’s record at the pro level. But according to those close to Belichick, he’s not particularly thrilled with what the NFL has become in recent years.

Belichick was reportedly “disgusted” by today’s NFL.

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham went into detail about Belichick’s decision to take the job at UNC, and according to a Belichick confidant, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is “disgusted by what he believes the NFL has become.” “.

“That’s high praise for the NFL,” another person close to Belichick told Wickersham.

Belichick will now face a new challenge in the college game that he has never faced before. But did he have a choice?

Why weren’t there any NFL jobs for Bill Belichick?

While Belichick seems to be done with the NFL, it seems like the NFL is also done with Bill Belichick.

Three NFL teams will already be looking for a new head coach this winter – the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints – and more coaches will open their doors when the regular season ends next month. But would any of these teams consider hiring Belichick?

Only one of the seven teams that had a head coaching vacancy last offseason spoke to Belichick, and the Atlanta Falcons passed on him to hire Raheem Morris. Mix in the NFL places a much greater emphasis on offense rather than defense – not to mention Belichick’s 29-38 record since Tom Brady left New England – and many teams likely felt Belichick’s approach to the league is too outdated.

Added to this is his age and his desire for complete control over an organization. Belichick turns 73 in April, and NFL teams likely wouldn’t be willing to lay off their coaching staff and front office to sign someone who might only be there for a few years.

“Part of me feels like I don’t want to say the NFL has turned its back on Bill because that’s too strong. But I feel like the NFL is better with Bill Belichick. It doesn’t feel right,” ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss said on WBZ Wednesday night Patriots 1st Down.

But it was Belichick’s commitment to the school – he reportedly laid out a 400-page bible on how he would make the Tar Heels a winning program – that made North Carolina fall in love with the head coach. Now it looks like he will probably end his coaching career with a completely new experience.

Could Belichick return to the NFL one day?

It will take some getting used to seeing Belichick on the college sidelines on Saturdays. But the bottom line is that Belichick will get back to doing what he loves and does best: coaching football.

“What feels right is that Bill Belichick is coaching when he’s not in the NFL. He’s a coach and coaches are coaches,” Reiss said Wednesday. “He loves football. He loves to train. I’m sure he enjoyed the media issue, but that’s not enough.”

Belichick will completely transform North Carolina’s football program, and he seems determined to see it through for as long as it takes. Given his age, this is likely to be the case for Belichick.

But if he has a few successful seasons with the Tar Heels, could NFL teams come calling? And would Belichick be willing to discuss a possible return to the NFL?

“We never really know what Bill Belichick is thinking,” Reiss said. “We just have to guess. I think if an NFL opportunity came up in the next two years — let’s say he goes to North Carolina and wins big — I think he would have a hard time turning it down.”

“I think the NFL is in his blood,” Reiss added.