Bill Belichick is set to become the new head coach of the University of North Carolina, a stunning move to the college ranks by arguably the NFL’s all-time greatest coach.
The move is a leap of faith on both sides.
First by the 72-year-old, who owns eight Super Bowl rings, including six as the head coach of the New England Patriots, but he has never worked as a college coach, let alone recruiter — nor has he shown a lot of natural acumen for it.
Second, by an ACC program that will hope a new, short-term jolt can pump sustained life into a football program that has long been stuck under a ceiling of good but never great, which fights for relevancy not just in the sport, but on its own basketball-obsessed campus.