Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
FOXBOROUGH, MA — Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and came within 20 victories of the all-time National Football League record for coaching wins, is heading to college for the first time as a head coach at age 72, according to reports late Wednesday afternoon.
The NFL Network's Ian Rappaport first reported that both sides agreed to the deal, which had been rumored for several days, as the coach many consider to be the greatest in NFL history received light interest from other NFL teams after parting ways with the Patriots following a 4-13 season in 2023.
Belichick has spent this season doing various media jobs — reportedly in the hope that another team would come calling that would allow him the chance to coach the 19 wins he needed to pass Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history. But with those prospects seeming to dim, Belichick turned his attention to the college ranks with the University of North Carolina apparently meeting his salary and other demands for institutional control.
UNC fired coach Mack Brown, also 72 years old, during a regular season in which the Tar Heels went 6-5. UNC is bowl game-eligible and will be in Boston on Dec. 28 to face the University of Connecticut at Fenway Park.
Belichick will presumably not be coaching that game and will take over for next season.
Belichick appeared well on his way to setting the coaching wins record in Foxboro after reaching nine Super Bowls and winning six in more than two decades. But things took a turn for the worse once Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and Belichick's teams increasingly struggled in recent years with Cam Newton, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe as its quarterbacks.
When the Patriots stumbled to a 4-13 last season, Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced a mutual decision to move on from their long and celebrated partnership. Kraft later said that he made the difficult decision to fire Belichick and turn to former player Jerod Mayo as his heir-apparent successor.
The Patriots entire Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals at 3-10 in their first year under Mayo.
In 29 NFL seasons — 24 with the Patriots and five with the Cleveland Browns — Belichick amassed a 333-178 record.
_(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott\_Souza.)_
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