Bill Belichick is well-known in the football world whether it’s college or at the professional level. And while he spent nearly five decades in the NFL and won eight Super Bowls, he feels like the new kid in class when it comes to being a college coach.
“I’m the rookie of the room,” the UNC Tar Heels coach said during an interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis along with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.
When Davis told Belichick he wasn’t a rookie in any room he walks into, Belichick noted he’s not as familiar with “other things as a lot of other coaches.”
“Especially like coach Swinney here,” Belichick said. “He’s got way more experience in doing a lot of the things that we do in the ACC than I do. Way more. So, I’m watching him. I’m looking at his program. It’s a great program. I wanna try to copy and do some of the things he’s been very successful with, and understand why he does them.”
Swinney, along with Georgia’s Kirby Smart, are the only two active coaches with two national championships, so he wouldn’t be a bad person for Belichick to mirror.
Belichick’s success in the NFL speaks for itself. He was part of two dynasties with the New England Patriots in which the won six Super Bowls over a two-decade run, and holds a slew of NFL records.
But that doesn’t mean that success will automatically transfer to the college level. Belichick has never coached college ball, but he’s been busy recruiting this spring to help bolster the Tar Heels. In March, the school got four-star recruit at defensive tackle Trashawn Ruffin to commit to the Tar Heels in 2026.
While it’s unclear how Belichick will fare in his first season at UNC, CBS Sports’ annual Power Four college football coach rankings had him ranked rather low at No. 54.
“He’s widely considered one of the greatest football coaches of all time,”CBS’ Tom Fornelli wrote. “And I had him 66th on my ballot. Why? Because none of that success has happened at the college level. Our John Talty had him at 19 because he’s Bill Belichick. In the end, he finished here. It’ll be interesting to see where he’s ranked a year from now.”
