Belichick says life as a college coach has exceeded expectations

By R.L. Bynum

CHARLOTTE — The NFL legend turned North Carolina head coach hasn’t run a college training camp yet or called a play at Kenan Stadium, but after a few months on campus, the experience has been “fantastic.”

“It’s honestly more than I expected. I expected it to be good, but it’s really, it’s been fantastic,” Belichick said Tuesday morning at ACC Kickoff in an availability with Triangle media, with the Sept. 1 opener against TCU more than a month away. “There’s a big, obvious interest and excitement in the season coming up, and we’re excited to get started.”

It’s Belichick’s first time being part of campus life since his childhood days in Annapolis, Md., where he spent time around the Navy program while his father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime assistant coach.

Now, he’s fully immersed in the college experience — cheering on other Tar Heel teams, mingling with athletes from different sports, and attending donor events where he’s met hundreds of alumni, supporters and friends of the university.

“It’s really fun to be part of a school,” Belichick said.

Belichick drew comparisons to his time in New England, where he was deeply connected to the Boston sports scene and a fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins — but said the connection in Carolina feels different.

“They were great,” Belichick said of the Boston teams. “I had relationships with them. But it’s not the same. It’s just not the same. And it’s been a lot of fun. The kids are younger, they’re very driven, and they make a lot of improvement.”

Improvement is a theme Belichick returns to often, emphasizing the importance of “stacking good days.” He saw it firsthand after his visit to Washington’s spring practice in 2024, where son Steve — now UNC’s defensive coordinator — was coaching.

“When I saw them in training camp, I was like, ‘My God, these guys have gotten so much better. It’s just remarkable,’ ” Bill Belichick said. “And so now, after a full spring and offseason workouts, I’m excited to see where these guys are in the fall and how much they improve. The growth, both physically and from a football standpoint, has been amazing.”

College coaching is all new to Belichick, but he’s also working with a mostly new roster — 70 new players, including 40 transfers and 30 freshmen. That much change creates uncertainty, but also opportunity.

“It’s all coming together,” he said. “I love the way our program has come together. We’ve got a long way to go, we’ve got a lot of new players, so we’ll see what happens when we get out there and start playing.”

Training camp opens at the end of next week, and Belichick made it clear the next few weeks will be crucial.

“We need to use our time and our opportunities as productively as we can to get our team ready to go,” he said. “And that’ll be the same way every week as we prepare for games.”