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The new Tar Heels football staff just got more speculative.
Bill Belichick has been purposely deliberate in making his administrative and coaching hires, but the picture is coming into more focus. The Hoodie has said that he will pluck contacts and former coaches from his two-plus decades in the NFL.
That door opened wider when New England fired rookie head coach Jerod Mayo after finishing 4-13 and foolishly beating Buffalo in a meaningless game that cost the Pats the first pick in the NFL Draft, losing the chance to select Heisman Trophy winner and transcendent two-way talent Travis Hunter from Colorado.
Belichick could hire Mayo, who was a star linebacker and named the head coach in waiting by the team’s ownership. If not, some of the Patriots staff that worked for Belichick might now be available to follow their former head coach and GM into the college ranks.
His oldest son Steve Belichick has already been tabbed as the Tar Heels’ new defensive coordinator after serving in the same position for the University of Washington. Dad may also hire his other son, Brian, who stayed with the Pats for this season. And there has been talk of also bringing in Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator who won six Super Bowls with Tom Brady at quarterback.
From any NFL team that fired its head coach – and there will be almost a dozen before the smoke clears – assistant coaches aplenty may be on Belichick’s wish list. He has said that Freddie Kitchens will remain on the staff with reports that he could be the Tar Heels’ new offensive coordinator, although that has yet to be confirmed.
If the UNC program is to become a collegiate version of an NFL franchise, Belichick may have his pick of assistant coaches, recruiters and scouts. If Carolina football no longer looks like most college programs, that will be exciting to watch.
However, the other side of the coin should be also considered. The head coach will make $10 million a season as long as he stays, which is half of what he earned with the Patriots. And if he is not wooed away by other NFL teams, any coaches he hires might be.
This is the other side of the coin for the most famous coach in football. If the great experiment does not result in upgrading UNC to ACC championship caliber that contends for the College Football Playoff, Belichick will catch the brunt of negative feedback. After all, he is not exactly the PR personality that made Mack Brown so popular.
And if that should happen, imagine the cries of nepotism lodged against him, along with snide snickering and social media posts about his 48-year-younger girlfriend who moves to Chapel Hill with him. Let’s all hope that everything turns out the way Belichick envisions, so he will be regarded as a great football coach. Period.
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Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill/Jon Gardiner
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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