Could Bill Belchick’s tenure as North Carolina football coach be over before it truly gets started?
That is exactly what the folks at Chapel Hill are becoming concerned about based on the staff hires Belichick has made – as well as the ones he hasn’t since taking the job a month ago, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
So far the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has retained former Browns coach Freddie Kitchens as offensive coordinator and hired son Steve Belichick as defensive coordinator.
He has also brought in general manager Mike Lombardi’s son Matt as an offensive assistant, former CFL coach Chris Jones as a defensive assistant and Billy Miller as a general position assistant.
Belichick tapped Moses Cabrera as the strength and conditioning coach after the two worked together with the Patriots.
With a reported $10 million staff budget and a number of position coach openings to fill, that certainly seems light.
Noticeably absent are any branches of Belichick’s coaching tree such as Matt Patricia or Joe Judge, the former Lions and Giants head coaches, respectively.
The situation is “making people nervous” at North Carolina, per Florio, including the athletic director and ACC president, concerned that Belichick could be biding time to see if an offer to return to the NFL shows up later in the game after there was little interest in the 72-year-old so far, according to Florio.
If so, there is a $10 million buyout in Belichick’s contract – that actually drops to the low price of $1 million in Year 2.
It all makes for a situation that could lead to the former Patriots coach’s time with the Tar Heels being a short one as he is close to breaking Don Shula’s all-time NFL wins mark.
NFL Network reported last week that the Raiders and new part owner Tom Brady spoke “recently” to Belichick about a potential coaching return in Las Vegas. But that quickly cooled off.
The job in Dallas is also now open after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy decided to part ways on Monday.
For now, Belichick is set to embark on his first collegiate season after landing UConn star defensive lineman Pryce Yates as a transfer
