CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina coach Bill Belichick gave thoughtful, comprehensive answers to questions. He fired off a few one-liners that drew laughs from the audience. He had a glass of sweet tea with lemon.
Belichick – the 73-year-old coach – was the main attraction at the ACC Kickoff on Thursday. Camera operators formed a tunnel on the third floor of the Hilton Uptown Charlotte waiting for the coach's entrance. Belichick jokingly covered his eyes to block the camera glare before taking the podium. Media members packed in for his half-hour breakout session, which was in the neighborhood of a standard Super Bowl Media Day scrum. Belichick did a dozen of those in the NFL.
All this amplifies the fascination with Belichick at North Carolina is the most-anticipated storyline in the ACC this season. No, Jordan Hudson – Belichick's girlfriend – was nowhere in sight.
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Chapel Bill was less monotone. He was respectful in his answers. Candid. Funny?
Belichick won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots from 2000-23. He won 302 games, which ranks third behind Don Shula (328) and George Halas (302). Yet the Patriots were 29-38 in Belichick's last four years from 2020-23 – the years after Tom Brady left the program.North Carolina has hit double-digit wins one time this century. In that sense, there is something to prove. Does Belichick still have it?
"Fundamentally it's the same," Belichick said. "You earn your teammates' respect through the reaction. You're there all the time. They depend on you."
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How Bill Belichick relates to college players
Boston College coach Bill O'Brien was an assistant coach for the Patriots from 2007-11. He returned in 2023 after head-coaching stints with Penn State and Houston. O'Brien recalled an "incredible" sequence during a short-yardage meeting with Belichick in that time with New England. Belichick took a call with another NFL GM during the meeting to discuss a contract, hung up, then said "Now, about that fourth-and-one …"
"Bill – being in the NFL as long as he was – he studied a lot of college football. He got to know a lot of college football coaches," O'Brien said. "He knows what he's doing."
O'Brien said Belichick will find ways to connect with players and coaches with that football knowledge.
"He can connect with the coaching staff," O'Brien said. "He connects with the players whether it's a 35-year-old quarterback or a 21-year-old rookie. .. Obviously, he's a fantastic coach and the knowledge he's going to bring to those players at North Carolina. They are going to be blown away by his knowledge of strategy, situational football, schematics and the history of the game. They're going to learn from him there."
Case in point: Belichick name-dropped Andy Reid, Mike Shanahan and Joe Gibbs – the offensive coaches who challenged him most during his NFL career. Senior cornerback Thaddeus Dixon can back these stories up.
"He knows just so much ball, so much game," Dixon said. "I mean, it's special man, honestly. It really is. He really could coach all 22 positions."
Senior safety Will Hardy described team meetings with Belichick. There is serious one-on-one coaching, but Belichick sneaks a one-liner in at times.
"He'll call you out in front of the team," Hardy said. "Again, like, he's coaching you, so whatever he says, that's the truth. So you just say, ‘yes, sir, 'and move on. He may crack a joke and he has the whole team laughing at you, but you got to wear it."
Belichick was asked about his standard one-liner with the Patriots, when he used to tell players they couldn't play for Foxborough High School.
"I can't use that one anymore," Belichick said. "That's the thing about college football, there are no replacements. You have what you have. In the NFL, if you lost three guards you could sign three guards. That can't happen here. You have to figure out another way to do it."
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How long will Bill Belichick hype last?
Belichick can win the ACC Kickoff, but how long will he keep college football’s attention? Even two-time national championship coach Dabo Swinney – who leads preseason favorite Clemson – caught himself having a moment in the spring.
"There was more than one occasion that I went, ‘Yep, that's Bill Belichick right there, in the ACC head coaches meetings," Swinney said. "It's the most 2025 thing ever."
The Tar Heels face TCU on Labor Day – a game that will get the full one-hour pre-game treatment from ESPN College Football Countdown. The question is whether Belichick can marry the NFL coaching style that produced success in New England with the college game, which has been flooded with changes on and off the field the last five seasons.
"That's exactly what we're trying to do," Belichick said. "That's my philosophy. We're running a pro program. We practice, train, food, teams, terminology, it's all pro-programmed."
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Clemson plays at North Carolina on Oct. 4. Imagine the hype around that game if Belichick can get off to a hot start with the Tar Heels in September against the Horned Frogs, Charlotte, Richmond and UCF. Remember the hype around Deion Sanders and Colorado two years ago? Multiply that by 1,000.
Long term, it's hard to say how Belichick will navigate NIL, the transfer portal and recruiting in the FBS. He was asked about handling in-home recruiting visits. He was quick to point out he knows now is a recruiting dead period.
"If I was in (a home), that would be a recruiting violation." Belichick quipped.
The Belichick pitch isn't that complicated either.
"This is who we are — we're not really going to change too much — if this works for you, then this is a great place for you. If it doesn't, then honestly you're better off somewhere else."
There was a former Belichick assistant that did well with that philosophy at Alabama. Belichick answered one last question about what drew him to the challenge of the college game with his general manager Michael Lombardi.
"I've always wanted to coach in college," Belichick said. "This past year, I was able to go to multiple college games and multiple high school games and I really enjoyed the process."
With that, Belichick exited and grabbed a box of popcorn from a station outside the press era. Is the Belichick era going to be … fun?
Now, that would be the most 2025 thing ever.