‘I didn’t come here to leave:’ Bill Belichick talks family ties and desire to coach college football in first North Carolina news conference

Bill Belichick made sure to win over North Carolina fans early in his first news conference.

The former New England Patriots coach was introduced as the Tar Heels’ head coach on Thursday. The start of the news conference leaned heavily into the time that Belichick’s father, Steve, spent at North Carolina as an assistant.

Belichick was a toddler when his father was at UNC, and he said he remembered hearing a famous family story about himself as a young child after holding up an old sweatshirt of his father’s at the podium.

“Billy’s first words were ‘beat Duke,’” Belichick said.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is just the second coach to take a college head coaching job after winning championships in the NFL along with Bill Walsh. Belichick, who spent the 2023 season out of coaching, said that he’s always wanted to coach college football and followed that with a deadpan line.

“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football and it just never really worked out,” Belichick said. “Had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK.”

Belichick also made it clear that he doesn’t plan on leaving for the NFL and another shot in the pros. He signed a five-year deal with the school and was asked about a scenario where he coaches for a couple of seasons at North Carolina before going back to the NFL.

“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said.

The 2025 season will be the 30th for Belichick as a head coach. Before 24 seasons with the Patriots, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for five seasons.

When asked why he wanted to continue to keep working, Belichick said that he didn’t feel like coaching football was work.

“Beats working,” Belichick said. “When you love what you do — my dad told me this — when you love what you do it’s not work. I love what I do. I love coaching, I love the interaction with players, I love building a team. Assistants, game-planning, the game itself.”

Belichick is replacing Mack Brown at North Carolina. Brown was one of just three active head coaches — along with Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart — who had previously won a national title. Brown was in his second stint at North Carolina and was fired with a game to go in the regular season.

Former Browns interim coach and current UNC assistant Freddie Kitchens has been appointed the team’s interim coach for the Fenway Bowl. Belichick said that Kitchens would be the first hire to his coaching staff for the 2025 season.

Belichick added that he had spoken to Michael Jordan before taking the North Carolina job and debunked the rumor that he had given UNC officials a 400-page document about the organizational structure of a football team.

“I have no idea where that came from; I don’t have a 400-page document,” Belichick said.

Belichick’s credentials in the NFL are indisputable — he’s the second-winningest coach in league history and has the most Super Bowl wins of any coach. But it’s not unreasonable to wonder if Belichick will be able to replicate that success at the college level, especially since he doesn’t have any previous college head coaching experience.

Walsh coached at Stanford for two seasons before winning three Super Bowls with the 49ers. His second time at Stanford lasted three seasons. The Cardinal won 10 games in the first season of his return. It won seven games over the next two seasons combined before Walsh retired.

But the college game is a lot different than it was when Walsh came back with an impending revenue-sharing agreement with players and their current freedom to transfer and earn money off their name, image and likeness rights. Belichick pointed out the parallels to the college game with the NFL because of the changes, but also made it clear there are differences too.

As part of Belichick’s hire, the school is also bringing in former NFL executive Michael Lombardi in a general manager role similar to what you’d see in an NFL front office. When asked about how involved he’ll be in recruiting, Belichick mentioned how similar the operation at Carolina would be to the one he worked with in the NFL.

“I think the recruiting process belongs to everyone,” Belichick said. “It belongs to Michael and his scouting staff and evaluations and setting that up, the recruiting department and making this an attractive destination for the athlete. But it’s also part of the coaching job. Certainly the head coach has a big role in that as well to ensure the athletes that you’re giving them what they want.”