Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick has signed a five-year contract to become the next head coach at North Carolina. The university made the announcement on Wednesday evening, approximately one week after the 72-year-old Belichick's name emerged as a surprising candidate to succeed Mack Brown, the program's all-time winningest coach. The agreement is subject to approval by the University of North Carolina (UNC) trustees, though no new meeting had been scheduled by Wednesday night. An official press conference to introduce Belichick has not yet been arranged.
"We understand that college athletics are evolving, and these changes demand fresh and creative strategies," UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham stated in a release. "Bill Belichick is a football icon, and bringing him on board to guide our program signifies a forward-thinking approach that will help Carolina football adapt, compete, and triumph—both now and in the years to come."
The university declared on November 26 that Brown would not return for a seventh season in his second tenure at Chapel Hill. This decision took effect following the program's all-time wins leader coaching his final game in the November 30 defeat to North Carolina State. Transitioning from the 73-year-old Brown to the 72-year-old Belichick means UNC is appointing a coach with no prior college experience but who achieved remarkable success in the NFL alongside quarterback Tom Brady during his 24-year stint with the Patriots, which concluded last season.
Belichick had been associated with NFL positions since then, notably with the Atlanta Falcons in January. The news of Belichick's talks with UNC—initially reported by Inside Carolina and confirmed by the Associated Press last week—came as a shock, marking an unexpected and unconventional path for both parties. However, the two sides had been in negotiations for several days before finalizing the terms, bringing to fruition what seemed an unlikely scenario just a week earlier.
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