Three days after swatting away questions about the opening for the New York Giants’ head-coaching job, Bill Belichick reaffirmed his commitment to North Carolina football Friday with a statement that made it clear the first-year Tar Heels coach will not pursue any NFL head-coaching vacancies.
“I have great respect and genuinely care for the New York Giants organization and both the Mara and Tisch families,” the statement reads, per Belichick’s Instagram account. “The New York Giants played an important role in my life and in my coaching journey. It was a privilege for me to work for the Mara family and be a member of Coach [Bill] Parcells’ staff for over a decade.
“However, despite circulating rumors, I have not and will not pursue any NFL head-coaching vacancies. Since arriving in Chapel Hill, my commitment to the UNC Football program has not wavered. We have tremendous support from the university, our alumni and the entire Carolina community. My focus remains solely on continuing to improve this team, develop our players and build a program that makes Tar Heel fans proud.
“We’re on to Wake Forest.”
Belichick, 73, famously won six Super Bowls during his 24-season run as New England Patriots head coach, teaming up with future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady to establish a two-decade NFL dynasty. A decade before he started his Patriots tenure, though, he wrapped up a 12-season stretch on the Giants’ staff. He was their defensive coordinator for a pair of Super Bowl wins: first during the 1986 season and then again during the 1990 season.
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As successful as Belichick’s Patriots reign was, it had an awkward ending. Brady left after the 2019 season and immediately won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belichick, meanwhile, made the playoffs in only one of his four seasons coaching in New England after Brady’s departure.
Bill Belichick rides on a duck boat during the New England Patriots Super Bowl LIII victory parade in Boston on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photo by Nathan Klima for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Belichick’s messy parting with Patriots owner Robert Kraft was followed by reports ahead of the 2024 season that Kraft warned Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank not to trust Belichick when interviewing him for the Falcons’ head-coaching vacancy.
Belichick pivoted to work in media, and the 2024 season came and went. His decision to take the UNC job was a surprising one that made him the oldest head coach in college football. His first season in Chapel Hill has delivered plenty of drama — more off the field than on, however, the victories are starting to stack for Belichick and his NFL-heavy staff.
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The 4-5 Tar Heels have won back-to-back ACC games. Belichick admitted after a 20-15 triumph over Stanford last week that, in retrospect, he could have put his players in better position to be successful at the start of the season.
The “Chapel Bill” era began with a series of blowout defeats to power-conference opponents. While UNC took down Charlotte and Richmond, it took a season-opening, 48-14 beatdown from TCU and eventually lost 34-9 to UCF and 38-10 to what’s become the first five-plus-loss Clemson team since 2010.
It took Belichick until Halloween to pick up his first win in league play. Before that, a matter of inches separated the Tar Heels from accomplishing that feat in consecutive heartbreakers.
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A lot can change in a month.
While Belichick is now putting out a statement to voluntarily take his name out of NFL head-coaching conversations, he was putting out another in October — along with athletic director Bubba Cunningham — to hush speculation about a potential early exit from UNC after the team’s embarrassing 2-3 start.
