At UNC football media day, Bill Belichick touches on the transition to college, ‘Carolina players,’ and, yes, fullbacks

After almost 50 years in the NFL, Bill Belichick made his first appearance in front of the media on Thursday as head coach of North Carolina, his first attempt at collegiate football.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Belichick remarked. We have a fantastic chance because of Chancellor [Lee] Roberts, who has made such a significant impact and because coming to North Carolina has been so encouraging.

There is fierce competition on the roster, and I’m interested to see how it all works out. Naturally, everyone is really focused on the TCU opener [on September 1], which is our goal. The most important thing for us right now, though, is just stacking successful training days one after the other and being prepared for the start of the regular season as well as the ACC schedule.

The Tar Heels saw a significant roster turnover, so Belichick and his staff will be put to the test in terms of player development and evaluation. According to Belichick, a new era was ahead with 70 new players.

“Coaching is really about developing players, and that’s what we do,” Belichick stated. I, along with our employees and players who aspire to grow, take great delight in that. A Carolina player is one who aspires to be a good football player, who is willing to put in a lot of effort and who regularly commits to getting better, both in terms of training and team performance on the field.

From his first head coaching position in Cleveland to his greatest achievements with well-known late round picks in Foxborough, Belichick cited his background in player development.

Whether it was in Cleveland, where Mike [Lombardi] and I assembled an offensive line with four of the five starters being free agents, Belichick stated, or in New England, where we had a mix of high and low draft picks, including players like [Rob] Gronkowski and [Tom] Brady, who ended up being excellent players, as well as some of the other players, higher picks that develop, like those two players.

We therefore place a high value on people who want to join, put in the effort, play well, learn, and compete because competition is what improves us all.

Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, takes over a North Carolina team that finished 3-5 in conference play and near the bottom of the ACC last season with a 6-7 record. In the shadow of the Green Monster, the Tar Heels fell short against UConn in the Fenway Bowl.

Before being fired of his job prior to that Fenway postseason loss, Mack Brown, Belichick’s predecessor, had some success with North Carolina. Brown guided the Tar Heels to four winning seasons in his six seasons but lost four straight postseason games.

Belichick will try to make North Carolina relevant in a conference that is dominated by historically strong schools like Clemson and Miami. The latter’s two-time national champion coach, Dabo Swinney, claimed that since the 73-year-old took over at North Carolina, he had already learned a lot from Belichick. Belichick appeared to dismiss this.

“Yes,” Belichick answered, “we’re all learning from Dabo.” It’s really kind of him to say that, and it’s really flattering. I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with Dabo at the ACC coaches meetings, and I have a great deal of respect for him and his accomplishments. He is a fun person to be around.

That may or may not be the case on Saturday afternoons. Jokingly, Belichick added. Most likely not.

How Belichick can manage coaching college athletes after a half-century in the NFL, especially in the realm of NIL and player payments, has been the most pressing on-field question surrounding his departure. Belichick seems thrilled about the chance.

“The growth and development is the great thing about working with the college players,” he remarked. Last year, I witnessed some of that when I went to Washington with coach [Jedd] Fish and [Belichick’s son] Steve to observe the players’ progress from the spring until training camp began.

You’re right, the players are a little younger and less experienced at the collegiate level, in my opinion. There are fewer negative habits to break, which might be advantageous at times. However, I also think that the players are lot more open to the coaching. When we actually start playing football next week, I believe we’ll be prepared to go, but we’re eager to see how everything plays out on the field.

However, a Belichick media session wouldn’t be complete without a digression into football’s more underrepresented roles and positions. When Belichick was questioned about the fullback’s past, the football historian was able to launch into a lengthy lecture about one of his favorite positions.

Belichick grinned and said, “So, yeah, that’s been an evolution,” after spending two minutes detailing everything from color-coded modifications when he first joined the Colts in 1975 to the fullback’s role in contemporary spread offenses.