The spotlight just got brighter for Bill Belichick.
The University of North Carolina, which hired the former NFL coach in December, is considering taking a turn on HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason.”
“There’s a lot of conversations going on right now about that,” Tar Heels football GM Michael Lombardi said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday. “We’ve had a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program and kind of do the behind-the-scenes things, but I don’t think anything’s yet been official or signed.”
The news, first reported by Front Office Sports‘ Ryan Glasspiegel, comes as NFL Films had difficulty finding an NFL team to commit to “Hard Knocks” after last year’s Giants debacle, which highlighted the saga of losing Saquon Barkley to the Eagles.
“There’s definitely a chance. We hope it’s back,” NFL Films VP Keith Cossrow told McAfee in January. “We’re talking to a bunch of teams about it. But we’ll see what happens. I mean, we need a willing participant on that one. We’re not going to force someone to do that show.
“That show is about a process,” he continued. “And I think it’s really cool to have been able to make a show about, ‘Hey we’re going to start in January and we’re going to have an endpoint after the draft. And you’re going to see how a group of people, faced with really difficult decisions, goes about making those decisions.’”
Belichick, 72, will be under a microscope in his first year coaching at the college level — and having it be on HBO would certainly add intrigue to his opening chapter as a Tar Heel.
“There’s not many times you can have the greatest coach of all time take you into a meeting,” Lombardi said.
The eight-time Super Bowl winner and the Patriots parted ways after 24 seasons together last January.
He took a year off from coaching, but kept busy with a number of television gigs.
Last month, Belichick signed a five-year deal with a $10 million per year in base salary — though only the first three years are guaranteed.
The contract also has a $10 million buyout that drops to $1 million in June.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said during his introductory press conference at Chapel Hill on Dec. 12, 2024, which his 23-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson attended.
The former National Champion cheerleader would likely be featured on the show as she had been publicly supportive of the Tar Heels after Belichick was hired.
Prior to that, Belichick’s name circulated through the coaching carousel.
Fans will now get a closeup look at coach, who’s stern and private about his program, in his element.
