Bill Belichick Reveals What Kind of Men He’s Looking to Recruit to Build a Winning Culture in Chapel Hill: “Got to Love Preparations”

“North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick.” That’s a phrase nobody truly expected to hear come to fruition when rumors of Belichick going to college emerged in early December. After a year of media and a lifetime in the NFL, though, Belichick moved to a new stage.

The ACC coach joined College GameDay ahead of today’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Indiana and Notre Dame. During his appearance, Desmond Howard asked him about the types of players he wanted to bring to North Carolina. Unsurprisingly, Belichick’s aspirations at the college level aren’t much different from his NFL desires.

“No. 1, they need to love football… if you wanna be your best, if you want to train professionally, [learn] fundamentals and techniques that are used professionally, get the most out of your abilities and be with good teammates and other people who love football, this is a great place to be… you’ve gotta love the preparation, the training [and] the competition.”

Most old-school football fans would say there aren’t many players who fit that mold in the college ranks these days. Kirk Herbstreit spoke on this with Belichick to find out his thoughts on finding and bringing those kids to town.

Bill Belichick: “You’re coming closer to the NFL model”

When Herbstreit asked his question, he mentioned the propensity for college players to leave when they don’t get their desired playing time instead of staying and fighting for snaps. Under an older, grizzled coach like Belichick, there’s presumably a higher risk of this transpiring. Shockingly, Belichick didn’t seem that concerned about such things happening.

“I don’t really think that’s gonna happen too much… it seems to me with each passing time frame in this process, [NIL] is becoming a little bit more organized. There’s more of a system in place. I know there’s some things in the courts that still need to be worked out, but based on what I’ve seen, you’re coming closer to the NFL model.”

There’s a much larger talent pool for Belichick to search in college, but there are many more destinations for players as well. It’s also way easier, as Herbstreit mentioned, for players to leave than it is at the professional level.

Belichick knows these things and still chose to join North Carolina instead of waiting for a potential NFL opening. He wouldn’t have done so if he weren’t confident about making the Tar Heels a CFP contender in short order. How he hits the transfer portal and builds his roster is one of the sport’s most fascinating storylines heading into 2025.