Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has met with North Carolina officials, including Chancellor Lee Roberts, about the school's football opening.
But the search and the hiring process, now in its second week, has been hampered by issues among officials, according to multiple people.
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A senior administrator said the process has been prolonged by, what was termed, antics of board members becoming involved in the process and causing confusion. The administrator indicated the process would have been wrapped up at this point if not for that.
Cunningham and Roberts are leading the search, but others, including members of the school's Board of Trustees, have a role. Cunningham said there is a small advisory group working on the hiring.
Board of Trustees chairman John Preyer was critical of how the firing of Brown was handled. Preyer and other board members criticized Cunningham and the financial health of the department at a public meeting and have pushed for a more aggressive posture in conference realignment.
ESPN reported that the search has been "scattered, according to sources, with an uncertainty in the industry about who is running it." ESPN reported Preyer is leading the charge for Belichick.
The NFL legend has the backing of some donors and officials, a source told WRAL. Belichick was the university's initial long list of candidates. The school has had conversations about hiring Belichick for more than a month as it searches for a replacement for Mack Brown, a source told WRAL.
The senior administrator expressed frustration that the university has not been able to focus on the search, the person and the announcement.
Belichick interest
During an appearance on Pat McAfee's show, Belichick outlined some of his thoughts on running a college program. The 73-year-old coach has no collegiate coaching experience.
"I've had an opportunity to talk to Chancellor Roberts, and we've had a couple good conversations," Belichick said during appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show." "We'll see how it goes."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that UNC officials and Belichick met for five hours Sunday.
Belichick declined to get into details the meeting.
"I don't think you spend five hours after days of discussions with the university if there's not something to it," Schefter said during an appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show." "Now whether or not North Carolina can put together a package that's attractive and compelling enough for Bill, whether that's ultimately what he decides to do, we'll see."
Belichick won six Super Bowls and reached another three as head coach of the Patriots.
"Anytime, as a coach, you join with an organization whatever level it's at, you just want a shared vision with that person," Belichick said. "What are your goals? What are your expectations? What do you need to achieve those? How do we achieve them? And so forth."
He added: "There are a lot of things that go into that team building and the structure of the program and so forth that takes some time to just talk through. It's a discussion. It's not an argument or a debate. It's just understanding what resources are available, what we need and how does that mix together, who's working for who."
Bill Belichick emphasized "IF" he was coaching in a college program, it would be "a professional program." 👀 @PatMcAfeeShow
"The college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that have the ability to play in the NFL." pic.twitter.com/p2raPzm2DN
— ESPN (@espn)
His son, Stephen, is the defensive coordinator at Washington and Belichick has spent considerable time around the program and college football this year. He said there are increasing similarities between the college game and the NFL.
"Let me put this in capital letters 'IF, i-f, IF' I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL," Belichick said. "It would be a professional program, training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football."
And his father, Steve, was an assistant coach at UNC for three years in the mid-1950s when Bill Belichick was young.
By the way on Belichick: His dad Steve was an assistant coach at Carolina in the 1950s and little Bill was snapped in Kenan Stadium. This from, where else, "Football in a Forest." pic.twitter.com/x4Y8FKc2OZ
— Lee Pace (@LeePaceTweet)
December 6, 2024"I did grow up that way," Belichick said when asked about the photo.
Belichick and the Patriots split after the 2023 season and, despite his record, Belichick was not able to land an NFL job for the 2024 season. He could have NFL opportunities after this season.
"He wants to coach," Schefter said. "He's been great this year as a media darling and a media star, and he can keep doing that if he wants. But at his core, in his soul, he's a football coach."
Belichick, though, urged caution about coaching in Chapel Hill.
"We'll see," he said when McAfee, a former NFL player, suggested that it made sense for Belichick to run a college team. "We'll see."
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, thought to be near the top of UNC's candidate list, said Sunday that he would remain with the Green Wave.
Other potential candidates for UNC include Army's Jeff Monken and UNC interim coach Freddie Kitchens. The Tar Heels could consider Iowa State coach Matt Campbell and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann as well.
Monken is coaching in the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday.
“How do we get to 10, 11 (wins)? Who can get us to that level?” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham said on a school podcast earlier in the search. “ ... We need somebody to come in and take us from good to great. How do we compete for championships, ACC and national championships? And I think we can do that."
The winter transfer portal window opened Monday, though UNC players were allowed to jump in sooner because of the coaching change. The portal has become a critical part of assembling talent.
Belichick would not be the first Super Bowl-winning coach to later lead a college team. Former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh coached Stanford after leading the 49ers to multiple Super Bowl wins. Walsh, though, had previously coached at Stanford.