Bill Belichick is in Chapel Hill for the long haul.
The legendary NFL coach won’t be the kind to make the leap back to the league if he finds success at the college level with the Tar Heels.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick told the media at his introductory press conference on Thursday — a day after he shockingly agreed to coach at the same school his father, Steve, did as an assistant from 1953-55.
“It’s great to come back home to Carolina and come back home to an environment I grew up in.”
A lot has changed since then.
Belichick set off on a historic coaching career beginning as the Giants’ defensive coordinator in 1985, beginning a 38-year odyssey that saw him rack up 333 wins as a head coach with the Browns and Patriots.
That included a 24-year stretch in New England that saw him win over 300 games and six Super Bowls.
Belichick sits just 14 total wins behind all-time leader Don Shula and was rumored to be among the top coaching candidates for 2025 — though that plan is seemingly scuttled for at least the next five years as he looks to build the North Carolina program into a national power.
At 72, dealing with a changing college sports landscape — not to mention the NIL and the transfer portal — will be a new challenge for the coaching GOAT.
It’s one he says he’s ready for.
“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football,” Belichick said. “It just never really worked out. Had some good years in the NFL… so that was OK.”
He won’t be going at it alone, bringing former NFL executive Michael Lombardi on board as the football team GM and bringing former Browns coach Freddie Kitchens over from Mack Brown’s previous staff.
Oh, and he’ll have his girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson by his side, as well.
The former college cheerleader will get to root for Belichick in a familiar setting, and she’s already in the spirit.
“We are onto Chapel Hill!” she posted on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, not long after news of Belichick’s agreement with the Tar Heels became official.
And they won’t be going anywhere, either.
