North Carolina made a significant financial commitment to lure legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick to Chapel Hill albeit with a shorter- than-industry-standard contract length.
UNC and the 72-year old Belichick agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract, according to The Athletic. That is a significant financial upgrade from the $5 million UNC paid Mack Brown, a national championship-winning coach, in his final season at the school.
Only seven coaches in FBS made over $10 million in 2024, a group that does not even include Ohio State coach Ryan Day or LSU coach Brian Kelly.
The three-year contract raised eyebrows within the college football industry, though. No coaching agent CBS Sports talked to in the immediate aftermath could remember a new hire only getting a three-year contract in recent memory. The industry standard has become five years, perhaps six if the coach is particularly desirable, for recruiting purposes. Purdue recently gave new coach Barry Odom a six-year contract, for instance.
“The three-year deal is worse,” a coaching agent told CBS Sports. “Not sure kids will go there knowing he is likely gone soon. But that’s the beauty of the portal.”
Said another coaching agent: “In the portal era, maybe coaching stability doesn’t matter as much as it used to but it still matters some. I just don’t see how it works.”
The legendary eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach has never coached in college football before committing to take over UNC’s program. The former New England Patriots coach has reportedly been interested in a succession plan that would eventually pass the job to his son, Steve, who currently serves as Jedd Fisch’s defensive coordinator at Washington.
Belichick, who worked with legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban while with the Cleveland Browns, won 333 games in 29 seasons as an NFL head coach. He was reportedly making $20 million annually as the New England Patriots’ coach before being let go following the 2023 season. He interviewed multiple times for the Atlanta Falcons opening that eventually went to Raheem Morris, but after he didn’t get an NFL coaching position last cycle, he has spent the 2024 season working in a variety of media roles including ESPN’s ManningCast.
Belichick will replace the 73-year-old Brown who was fired after going 44-33 in six seasons at UNC. It was Brown’s second stint leading the UNC program after a successful run 1988-97 that included six bowl appearances.
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