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 press 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.