Bill Belichick shook the college football landscape when he accepted the North Carolina head coaching job earlier this offseason, and his move from the NFL to UNC has other coaches on notice. Steve Sarkisian is among the many to speak out about Belichick’s entry into the college game and what it means for the sport, and the Texas head man said it signals a “pretty exciting” trend for college football as it surges toward a quasi-professional model.
With six Super Bowl rings as a head coach and two more as an assistant on his résumé, Belichick brings an unmatched background with him to UNC, where a bright future could be in store for the Tar Heels.
“At first, there was some rumblings,” Sarkisian said recently on the “Up & Adams” show. “I’m like, ‘He’s just kicking the tires to get an NFL team to come get him.’ And then he took the job, and then he brought Mike Lombardi with him. I was with Mike Lombardi in Oakland in 2004. I was like, ‘Okay, they’re probably assembling this thing to go for it.’ I think it talks a little bit about college football and just kind of where we’re at.”
Last offseason saw countless college football coaches bolt for the NFL, with some of them citing their concerns over NIL and the transfer portal and the increased demands on staffs as reasoning for their departures. While some followed the same path this year, the exodus was significantly less dramatic. And a bevy of current and former pro head coaches and assistants actually reversed the trend with their moves toward the college game.
“The fact that Chip Kelly goes to be an assistant coach with Ryan Day. Now he’s in the NFL,” Sarkisian said. “Bill Belichick is now coaching college football. Matt Patricia is now a defensive coordinator at Ohio State. Just the idea and the thought behind where college football is at today is pretty exciting.”
Belichick is hard at work on the recruiting trail and built a notable haul of incoming talent in his first couple months on the job. His transfer class ranks No. 14 nationally and offers a wave of instant-impact playmakers, and he’s gearing up for the future with a 2026 high school recruiting class that checks in at No. 23 on the leaderboard.
“To think here’s one of the greatest — if not the greatest — of all time is coaching our game now because he sees the value in it, I think is pretty cool,” Sarkisian said.
RELATED (VIP) — Inside Bill Belichick’s UNC football recruiting pitch: Coaches, recruits open up on ‘wow factor’ of NFL legend
The Belichick era at UNC opens in a high-profile spot as the college football’s primetime game on Labor Day. His Tar Heels host TCU in a Power Four showdown.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
