Can Bill Belichick pull off what Nick Saban walked away from in frustration? That’s the million-dollar question with him heading to college football after more than two decades of NFL coaching. The former New England Patriots HC is unfazed though, by the possible challenges in his new role at UNC. “I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill,” he said when he agreed to the five-year deal with the Tar Heels in December. But given the nature of college football, one of the loudest voices is giving Belichick just two years before true colors begin to show.
Even before it has begun, Bruce Feldman can foresee what the biggest challenge will be for Bill Belichick in college football in his conversations with coaches who know him. In a YouTube short by Until Saturday on February 1, Feldman highlighted the 72-year-old’s potential future in Chapel Hill. “I think dealing 17-year-olds and 16-year-olds and 18-year-olds and their families and their handlers will drive him up a wall,” the FOX analyst observed. “I think ultimately he’ll be like, ‘I don’t need this.’ That mentality is what drove Nick Saban to game day.”
Recruiting might just be Bill Belichick’s toughest challenge. Unlike the NFL, where there’s a draft, free agency, and trade deadlines, college football is a year-round recruiting grind. And with the change in the NIL and the transfer portal, he’ll be at the center of player pursuit. “You’re gonna be recruiting a lot of kids in this environment,” Feldman pointed out. “And I’m not saying they’re gonna be bad kids. I just think what he’s going to be dealing with for a long time of this, I think he’ll get sick of after probably two years.” He may be a 6x SB HC in his 24 seasons in the NFL, but Belichick has never been on the sidelines at the collegiate level.
NFL GOAT Tom Brady gave the CFB players a thing or two to expect from Bill Belichick. “The thing is, he’s not the warmest and fuzziest of all time,” the former Patriots legend admitted during his conversation with his FOX colleague Kevin Burkhardt. “I remember one year after we won the Super Bowl our first year. We got in a limo. He was out on Bourbon Street after he beat the Rams in 2001. We got in a Limo after the game the next morning to go to the MVP press conference and he goes, ‘You know what Tom you had a pretty good season.’ That was about as warm and fuzzy as it got with coach Belichick.”
Doesn’t it only raise eyebrows thinking about how that stoic guy could win young college players’ hearts? Even the CFB GOAT coach left college football with exasperation on how college football is shaping up to be.
Bill Belichick stepping in where Nick Saban left off
What really made Nick Saban leave despite leading an unrivaled legacy in college football? Seven National Championship titles, 12 conference championships, 297-71-1 record as an HC in a span of three decades. But in a stunning turn of events, the former Alabama HC shocked the world with his retirement announcement following the Crimson Tide’s 27-20 playoff loss against Michigan in the 2023 Rose Bowl. His reason? The changing landscape of college football, especially in the NIL and transfer portal, and the alterations in the players’ mindsets.
According to Nick Saban on ESPN, “I thought we could have a hell of a team next year. And then maybe 70 or 80 percent of the players you talk to, all they want to know is two things: What assurances do I have that I’m going to play because they’re thinking about transferring, and how much are you going to pay me?” That was something Saban didn’t account for or entertained. Another reason he cited was his age. “Last season was difficult for me from just a health standpoint,” Saban told the media. “It just got a little bit harder. So you have to decide, ‘OK, this is sort of inevitable when you get to my age.’” But well, one person’s sunset can be another person’s dawn, even if they’re the same age.
Bill Belichick’s stint in college football could be a major boom or bust. Sure, he’s one of the greatest NFL HCs of all time, but from recruiting to managing young talent, the challenges in college football are a far cry from what he’s used to at the pro level.
The post Dark Days Ahead for Bill Belichick as New Concerns Over UNC Future Triggers Nick Saban’s Ghosts of Past appeared first on EssentiallySports.
