Bill Belichick is going to dive into the world of college sports. He has a whole new challenge on his hands, one that is going to be much different than he has been used to for the past few decades. He’s gonna need all the help he can get, and thankfully Deion Sanders has some advice for him.
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During his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Coach Prime advised Coach Belichick to avoid going to the homes of student-athletes to recruit them.
“Don’t do home visits. For a guy like that, a guy like me it’s not gonna work. Because you go to this school and the school around the corner gonna say you didn’t come here. I’m not letting my kid go there. He’s too good to come to your school. We get judged differently.”
He believes he and Bill share one similarity: both are judged and held to a different standard. If the eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach visits one school, other schools in the area would also expect a visit, according to Prime.
If he doesn’t make those visits, those schools might refuse to send their players to NC State. Deion also thinks Bill’s old-school mindset makes it unlikely for him to visit 100 different high schools to recruit players.
Despite all the challenges that Belichick will face as soon as he starts his stint in North Carolina, Coach Prime remains optimistic. He believes the former Patriots HC will taste success in college too.
Deion Sanders believes Belichick will easily succeed in college
Unlike many, Coach Prime believes in Coach Belichick’s ability to kickstart his coaching career successfully in college. During his appearance on Pacman Jones Show, Deion vouched for the former Pats HC, pointing out his track record as the greatest and most accomplished head coach in the NFL.
“The track record stands alone. No one in the NFL has accomplished what he’s accomplished. Making that translate to college football, I feel like that’s an easier role to come to college football and have success than it is to rekindle that fire he had in New England.”
Belichick might struggle to relate to high school players, which could hinder his ability to build the strong connections essential for recruiting student-athletes. This challenge is further amplified by the complexities of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals in today’s college football landscape.
In the NFL, Belichick worked with more mature players, focusing on guiding them to become the best football players they could be. In college, however, his role would shift to molding young athletes into professionals—a monumental task, even for a coach of his caliber.
It’s a time-consuming and demanding responsibility. Even Nick Saban, who excelled at it for years, eventually stepped away as the NIL era reshaped the college football environment.
However, if Belichick can rise to the challenge, NFL teams drafting players from North Carolina would gain disciplined, well-prepared professionals.