
Until Bill Belichick makes his college football debut in the Sept. 1 opener against TCU, Mack Brown remains the last coach to lead North Carolina on the field in a regular-season game. The two-time Tar Heels head man said he sees differences in his old program in the short time he has been away, most notably with its investment, and that those changes will help Belichick hit the ground running in Year 1.
Belichick’s five-year, $50 million deal makes him one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in college football. In contrast, Brown’s final contract at UNC paid him $5 million annually.
“Chancellor Lee Roberts is committed to football big-time for the first time in North Carolina history,” Brown said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “They are really wanting football to be good. They’re all-in. That gives them a chance to be successful.”
Speculation around Brown’s future ran rampant during the 2024 season, and just one day after he expressed his intention to return in 2025, UNC fired him. A high-profile coaching search ensued, and the Tar Heels landed on Belichick, who is now back on a football sideline after spending a year away at the end of his illustrious New England Patriots tenure.
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“Bill is arguably the best coach of any sport,” said Brown. “You win that many Super Bowls — at whatever level, the man can coach. He can evaluate, because he had to bring in all those kids at the Patriots. And now, administrators don’t like to say it, but we have pro football at some level in college. We no longer have amateurism. … The fact that we are much more like the NFL than ever before will really help Bill with this transition.”
Belichick has no coaching experience at the college level. How he fits at North Carolina, and in the NCAA in general, is entirely unknown ahead of his first year at the helm. The Tar Heels’ win total is listed at 7.5 at FanDuel, indicating that the market expects Belichick to at least reach bowl eligibility with his inaugural roster.
That unit includes a whopping 41 transfers, which is tied for the second-largest portal class in the 2025 cycle. The haul ranks No. 9 nationally and features a bevy of four-star prospects.
“The other thing is, every coach wants his own players,” said Brown. “They used to say it takes you two or three years to get your guys in there. He’s brought in 72 new guys. So you got money, you can evaluate and you can bring in who you want. I think he has a chance to win big and win big fast.”
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