It’s been a month and a day since North Carolina introduced Bill Belichick as the program’s new head coach. And Belichick has yet to hire many staff members.
The situation does nothing to shake nerves in Chapel Hill regarding the possibility of Belichick activating his $10 million buyout and jetting off to the NFL. Regardless of whether another team will hire him (the Raiders aren’t interested, although Belichick would like people to think they are), UNC is preparing for the possibility that Belichick will be gone soon after his arrival.
Look at it the hires he made. Freddie Kitchens, a holdover from the previous team, serves as offensive coordinator. Bill’s son, Steve, is the defensive coordinator. Matt Lombardi, the son of general manager Mike Lombardi, is an offensive assistant. Chris Jones, a former CFL coach who worked for Kitchens in 2019, is a defensive assistant. Billy Miller is a general post assistant. And Moses Cabrera, who worked for Belichick in New England, is the strength and conditioning coach.
Despite having $10 million to spend on the coaching staff and another $1 million on strength and conditioning, that’s it. In over a month.
No, Matt Patricia. No Joe Judge. No other Belichick disciples.
Maybe this is part of a bigger plan. Either way, it’s making people nervous, from the athletic director all the way down to the ACC commissioner (we’re told).
Again, the concerns will only have teeth if and until someone in the NFL hires Belichick. And Mike Lombardi’s repeated criticism of the NFL in general and certain teams in particular won’t help the effort. Neither will the perception/reality that you can’t hire Belichick without letting him essentially run the show.
Based on current openings, that probably won’t happen this year, while the buyout is still $10 million. This could happen next year, when the buyout drops to $1 million. Either way, everything we’ve heard in recent weeks suggests that Belichick wants to return to the NFL, that he took the UNC bird in his hands because no one would bat an eye at him and would commit that after the 2024 season he would have a head coaching position in professional football.
The only potential destination to watch is Tampa Bay, for two reasons. First, ownership has done some unconventional things over the past 16 years, from the abrupt firing of Jon Gruden and promotion of Raheem Morris to the firing of Morris and ill-fated hiring of Greg Schiano to the firing of Lovie Smith and Dirk’s promotion. Koetter on the “retirement” of Bruce Arians and the promotion of Todd Bowles. Second, Lombardi was publicly spreading the rumor that Bowles might retire before Belichick took the job at North Carolina.
Now, despite Bowles’ three straight division titles, who knows what the Bucs might be looking at if Belichick is in play?
There is another complication when it comes to Belichick’s potential return to the NFL. There may not be room for Lombardi. Ultimately, Belichick will have to decide how much he wants to chase Don Shula’s all-time winning record, and whether he wants it enough to leave Lombardi in the land of tobacco and basketball.