UNC is also not the dumpster fire Colorado was. They are in much better position in terms of commitment.
Chapel Bill: We're on to Carolina
- Thread starter Mystic Merlin
- Start date
Bill is a teacher. Whether the players are 18 or 28, football is football. He'll be able to spend a shit ton more time on fundamentals and full-padded practices than he did in the NFL. This area of football is where Bill thrives and will go a long ways in developing college players. Technique in football is the same at any level. Being around college players for 20 years, they run complicated defensive schemes anyways. Bill will tailor his systems to the players that he has. He is not married to one way of doing something.
BB has obviously forgotten more about football than most will ever know. His NFL work was the highest level of course, but the guy is a student of history and college ball is really the incubator for new ideas and the recycling of old ones to counter what's new and different.
I feel like Bill will be a very good college coach because of his attention to detail. He won't go to step 2, before making sure his guys understand step 1. He will definitely get frustrated with the limits of his players, but I also think he's much more likely to avoid putting too much on his players like many NFL coaches do when transitioning to the college game.
I feel like Bill will be a very good college coach because of his attention to detail. He won't go to step 2, before making sure his guys understand step 1. He will definitely get frustrated with the limits of his players, but I also think he's much more likely to avoid putting too much on his players like many NFL coaches do when transitioning to the college game.
I don’t think Deion and Belichick are even remotely alike.
Deion has way, way more cache than BB with teenagers football players . He can relate to them better too. I think he’s a better college recruiter than BB will be.
BB is also a much better X’s and O’s coach than Deion
Deion has way, way more cache than BB with teenagers football players . He can relate to them better too. I think he’s a better college recruiter than BB will be.
BB is also a much better X’s and O’s coach than Deion
There are hour limits both in and out of season, but he will be able to have more padded practices. With younger players, that will be key to what he wants to stress with fundamentals.
I don't think that's true. Deion has incredible cache with the parents of young football players.
Will be interesting to see. The #1 recruit for 2026, at this early stage, is a QB from Greensboro, NC. Currently committed to Tennessee.
https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/recruitrankings/
https://247sports.com/season/2026-football/recruitrankings/
Apparently, Bill's buyout drops from $10 million to $1 million on 6/1/2025. So he can leave before he even coaches a game for practically nothing.
We have a place on Bald Head Island where both Jim and John Harbaugh have homes. That would be an interesting dynamic.
Wow! So, he gets no interest from the NFL and by going to UNC he gets to rebuild his brand until some NFL GM panics and dials him up.
I wonder if the agreement for Steve to be the next HC is voided if BB leaves.
I read this article. Wow, was it bad. Tons of contradicting anecdotes. I am guessing that Lombardi is basically the co-author
to be honest the big ten and sec will take 4 spots nd will take a spot if they win 10 group of 5 takes a spot unlees he can get to the ACC champ game he has no shot for the playoff u guys will call me a homer but arkansas wouid been the better fit with 22 players leaveing bill couild had remade that roster day 1 road games @ tenn @ tex @ miss @ lsu all he has to do is win 2 of those at 10-2 any sec team is a lock for the playoff if SMU gets blown out Bama makes it at 9-3 and he would had embarrassed ark state which liveing in ark st 3 miles from campes wouild been priceness for me
they only made the playoff for 2 reasons
1 they lost by under 7
2 the playoff people did not want the blowback of a 9-3 team over a 10-2 team
It doesn't exist, not in the contract, and Steve will remain with UW at least through the Sun Bowl.
Honestly I don't think Bill plans to jump back to the NFL, I think that is his "what if it turns out I hate this job" out.
If they don’t have a Lawrence Taylor Day while BB is coaching I may have to kill Cherokee Parks
Is LT allowed on a college campus or is it just HS and below that he can't be within a certain distance of?
Been there a bunch of times. Love driving around in the golf carts.
Would greatly enjoy watching the Belichicks and the Harbaughs shit-talk each other while having a fishing contest.
Beaver Lake is also a much better place for a boat.
Arkansas is a tougher place to get to the Playoff. Competing with LSU Bama Texas Aggy Landgrabbers is going to be tough both on the field and in recruiting (he only really has worry about Clemson for the most part) plus he can sell UNC as a better school (other than Vandy, and also Texas which is about even)
——-
I think one thing not mentioned in BB’s favor in college is the larger roster size. He’s going to have a field day recruiting kids with one very good skill. This should be especially evident on ST
He was allowed back in 2021
https://www.tarheeltimes.com/article127005.aspx
https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/Article/UNC-Lawrence-Taylor-Returning-to-Chapel-Hill-Georgia-State-Game-170498776/
P.S. I miss the days when LB’s went 2 overall
I'm surprised so many people here think BB will be a bad college coach. If anything, I think it fits his style better than the NFL ever did.
That's the cut about Bill building a Calipari/Kentucky type operation at UNC, right?
I do think there's a tension between "I'm going to build an operation devoted to preparing players for the NFL" and "I'm going to win the ACC title and qualify for the playoffs".
Needless to say, the majority of players in any college program are not on an NFL path. And that becomes evident the longer they play.
Bill's a smart guy, obviously, so maybe he'll figure this all out. But there's a lot of upperclassmen in the portal who know that the year or two of NIL they get, and the playing time they get, is more valuable than "preparing for the NFL". A dream many begin to realize is likely out of reach.
I don’t have a link to it but I will reiterate that Bill’s appearance (earlier this week I think) on McAfee discussing the appeal of the UNC and college opportunity at length was pretty fascinating. And I don’t think there was actually *any* discussion about winning conferences or titles.
I'll try to track that down.
I will say, UNC is making an unprecedented (for them) commitment to football. I suspect they're going to want conference titles and playoff appearances for the $40 million annually in coaching salaries and NIL funds that they'll be paying.
Oh I agree. I mean, Bill has to know that any owner or organization will want some kind of return on their investment. I just meant that, whether or not he realizes it, Bill’s goals for this endeavor are way more ambitious than an appearance or two in the Tostitos Bowl.
There are two reasons I agree with this.
- College coaches wield absolute control. Bill with absolute control (and obedience from the players) is going to be successful.
- He will lean heavily on the portal to build that team. And the message he’s been putting out (“We’re going to build an NFL feeder program”) is very appealing to talented players in the portal who are hoping for a future in the NFL. I will be shocked if he doesn’t bring in a lot of the top transfers this Spring.
I think Belichick will be a good coach at UNC. Not great, but good.
I think the choice of Lombardi as GM is laughable. I understand that BB covets/requires total control over the program, and that Lombardi is just a puppet. Outside of that, the hubris of this move cannot be overstated.
If one assumes the Transfer Portal is the college equivalent of NFL Pro Scouting, recruiting is the college equivalent of NFL Amateur (i.e. college) Scouting, and that NIL is the college equivalent of the NFL salary cap (maybe a reach here), then after Year 1 this will be a disaster in terms of team building. BB's talent acquisition record with the Pats was spotty at best the last decade he was in New England. Lombardi's only college experience was as Recruiting Coordinator at UNLV from '81-'84 (40 years ago!) and he sucked as an NFL GM when he was in that chair. Aside from a probable Year 1 bump for transfers looking to polish up their resumes for the NFL (a la Indiana), I think talented kids will figure out real quick that UNC doesn't have the bag to compete with the big boys, and that Lombardi and BB are over their skis in this regard.
On-field coaching and week-to-week gameplanning? Coach Bill's wheelhouse. Program building? No longer his strength and he has no experience at this level. I think the results here will be super underwhelming. But good for him.
I also laugh thinking about him identifying and developing QBs and WRs at this level. You think 18-20YOs will run option routes to his satisfaction? Haha. He'll be fine coaching all the other positions, but the talent base will probably never be any better than mediocre after this potential Year 1 bump, imo.
I think the choice of Lombardi as GM is laughable. I understand that BB covets/requires total control over the program, and that Lombardi is just a puppet. Outside of that, the hubris of this move cannot be overstated.
If one assumes the Transfer Portal is the college equivalent of NFL Pro Scouting, recruiting is the college equivalent of NFL Amateur (i.e. college) Scouting, and that NIL is the college equivalent of the NFL salary cap (maybe a reach here), then after Year 1 this will be a disaster in terms of team building. BB's talent acquisition record with the Pats was spotty at best the last decade he was in New England. Lombardi's only college experience was as Recruiting Coordinator at UNLV from '81-'84 (40 years ago!) and he sucked as an NFL GM when he was in that chair. Aside from a probable Year 1 bump for transfers looking to polish up their resumes for the NFL (a la Indiana), I think talented kids will figure out real quick that UNC doesn't have the bag to compete with the big boys, and that Lombardi and BB are over their skis in this regard.
On-field coaching and week-to-week gameplanning? Coach Bill's wheelhouse. Program building? No longer his strength and he has no experience at this level. I think the results here will be super underwhelming. But good for him.
I also laugh thinking about him identifying and developing QBs and WRs at this level. You think 18-20YOs will run option routes to his satisfaction? Haha. He'll be fine coaching all the other positions, but the talent base will probably never be any better than mediocre after this potential Year 1 bump, imo.
The argument that college coaches have complete control is pre NIL/transfer portal thinking. You cannot threaten players with pulling their scholarship or reduced playing time or they will just transfer out. I don't see the old school BB approach working with today's youth. Brady, Gronk and Edelman made essentially that same comment recently.
Every coach in the ACC is going to target UNC and try and make it a point to kick Dean Belichick's ass.
For most teams in the ACC it will be their SuperBowl, and maybe a stepping stone to move past the Fenway Bowl and play in the real bowl games that the SEC and Big10 teams play in.
It will be a great story to tell at the cocktail parties with the rich alums as you pump them for dough.
Did I ever tell you about the time I kicked Bill's butt?
The idea that BB, the carpetbagger, is going to come into the ACC and out recruit and out strategize and out coach guys who know the terrain, have organizations in place, and have been coaching college ball for years is semi-delusional.
What is totally delusional is beleiving that BB told the NFL to fuck off.
For most teams in the ACC it will be their SuperBowl, and maybe a stepping stone to move past the Fenway Bowl and play in the real bowl games that the SEC and Big10 teams play in.
It will be a great story to tell at the cocktail parties with the rich alums as you pump them for dough.
Did I ever tell you about the time I kicked Bill's butt?
The idea that BB, the carpetbagger, is going to come into the ACC and out recruit and out strategize and out coach guys who know the terrain, have organizations in place, and have been coaching college ball for years is semi-delusional.
What is totally delusional is beleiving that BB told the NFL to fuck off.
Not really sure that's the case. He was GM of the Browns for 1 year, and his year seemed pretty good by Browns standards... got a 1st for a RB draft mistake by his predecessor, his signings were fine, his draft wasn't great (though Mingo was actually good as a rookie).... he was fine. He was also a big player in OAK when the team was pretty good. I don't think he's a particularly good choice for this role, but people here dislike him because he's annoying on podcasts, his history as an exec is pretty average for the NFL.
He may not outrecruit but..... I have seen ACC football coaches... he's gonna outcoach a lot of them.
Number 1 isn't true at all. Boosters, ADs, trustees all mettle. Some schools better than others, not sure of UNC but I imagine it's heavy in the good ol' boy network.
It's delusional to think the greatest football coach ever is going to out coach ACC coaches is certainly a take... one that symbolizes what football posts have become on SoSH. Blech.
If you're a mid-level D-1 player, realizing that college is the end of your playing career, would you rather spend 4 years playing for the GOAT coach at UNC or for some JAG at Anywhere State U?
In my experience, the interference you are describing here doesn’t extend to the nuts and bolts of coaching, which is what I was referring to. Most high-profile coaches have complete control over that aspect of their program.
Now, if the results aren’t there, boosters, the AD, trustees, etc. will absolutely be unhappy and will not feel shy about expressing that discontent. That just comes with the territory.
I also don’t think Belichick gives a shit about that.
BB is a great coach, but he's also a 73 YO and not the coach he was 5 or 10 or 15 years ago. And has no experience building a competitive college program. To expect him to be a success and get a mid-tier program to the highest levels of college football seems overly optimistic.
There's a reason he's can buy out of UNC for $1MM to go back to the NFL because his heart is not into this. He so wants to be an NFL coach again and not a D1 guy.
College football is a very different animal from the NFL. Especially now given the portal and NIL.
I’m certainly not willing to proclaim that Bill either will, or won’t, be a success at UNC. But it’s important to understand that the landscape he’ll be navigating, both in the field and off, is not at all like what he has spent his past 4 decades doing.
I’m certainly not willing to proclaim that Bill either will, or won’t, be a success at UNC. But it’s important to understand that the landscape he’ll be navigating, both in the field and off, is not at all like what he has spent his past 4 decades doing.
This is a great point.
And to echo what @8slim said above, I have no idea if Belichick will be successful. I know he’s an incredible developer of talent and a great X’s and O’s guy.
But it seems like some people think that college will be easy for him or that college is like what we remember. It’s a completely different beast than it was before.
Precisely. There’s a bias from pro-centric football fans that college is the minor leagues and thus “easier”. Maybe that was true at some point years ago, but it’s not now. CFB is simply different.
Nick Saban did better than anyone at CFB over the past half century. And he wanted out because of how different and complex it became.