Bill Belichick surprised the football world when he opted to join the North Carolina Tar Heels in early December. The six-time Super Bowl champion head coach went to the college ranks without waiting for NFL vacancies to open up. To Chris Simms, his former assistant at the Patriots, that decision was intentional.
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On Friday’s episode of the God Bless Football show, Simms hinted that Belichick already had an inkling he wouldn’t be landing an NFL gig for 2025.
“He was shocked… that there wasn’t more of a calling for him to be [an NFL] head coach. Am I shocked he’s going to college? Definitely. Did I think there’d be a team out there that would latch onto Belichick? I did think that. But I’m not shocked the NFL rejected Belichick,” Simms said.
Simms, who is a former QB as well, also spoke about the coach’s potential $1 million buyout from the Tar Heels.
That amount, which Simms labeled “couch-cushion change from NFL owners”, could be exercised in June. He added that the buyout, “tells me he doesn’t want to stay there long-term.”
However, Belichick’s own words indicate a different narrative.
Belichick: “I didn’t come here to leave”
Simms isn’t the first person to predict Belichick will jump back to the NFL at the first opportunity that comes his way. Taking a college job has ensured he’s coaching next season in some capacity no matter how he fared in conversations with NFL teams.
It is a logical approach for Belichick. But the coach insisted he’s no longer thinking about the professional ranks during his introductory press conference.
“I didn’t come here to leave. I’m here to do the best I can for the University of North Carolina and the program.,” he said.
Belichick’s actions, in terms of the personnel he is looking to recruit, provide the best evidence he’s telling the truth. He seems eager to prove he can succeed at the college level.
If he wins a College Football Playoff championship, he’d be the fourth head coach to capture a college title and Super Bowl ring. And, even though it’s not in the NFL, Belichick said there’s nothing he’d rather do than coach.
“[Coaching] beats working. When you love what you do, it’s not working. It’s really, I love what I do. I love coaching. I love the interaction with the players,” the coach added.
Belichick will have plenty of that over the next month as he gets his first taste of the transfer portal. Once the dust settles there, he’ll begin doing all he can to mold the Tar Heels into a quality unit.
His first collegiate game comes versus TCU on August 30.
