Legendary North Carolina linebacker Lawrence Taylor reacted to the Tar Heels officially hiring Bill Belichick. The two all-time greats go way back to when Belichick won two Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants. Taylor was the star of those teams, becoming one of the greatest players in NFL history. Before his pro career, “LT” had a decorated college career, winning accolades like ACC Player of the Year in 1980.
It's safe to say that Taylor is pleased with Belichick's shocking decision. The Hall-of-Famer had a back-and-forth exchange with acclaimed sports journalist Gary Myers. Myers revealed the texts he and “LT” sent to each other over X.
“‘UNC stock has just gone up!!!' Taylor texted. ‘You like it?' I asked. ‘Absolutely,' he said. ‘Did you talk to him about it?' I asked. ‘That's all we been doing the last couple of days,' LT said.”
New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (56) and Harry Carson (53) on the sideline with assistant coach Bill Belichick during the 1986 NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Giants Stadium.
Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images
Just a month ago, the thought of Bill Belichick coaching at UNC was unthinkable. Even six days ago, this future partnership between Belichick and North Carolina football seemed very unlikely. The six-time Super Bowl champion, as a head coach, has no experience on the college level. College football is also in a new era with NIL, where head coaches are basically CEOs of their programs. Luckily, Belichick has experience managing personnel as the de facto general manager for the New England Patriots.
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The Tar Heels are coming off a disappointing season that led to the firing of College Football Hall of Famer Mack Brown. North Carolina football is in an ACC conference that got two teams in the College Football Playoff. The twelve-team bracket ultimately gives opportunities to programs like UNC that are not used to contending for a national title. SMU is one of those teams, making it to the playoffs in its first year in the conference.
At 74 years old, it'll be interesting to see who ends up on Belichick's staff. It's fair to assume that the Tar Heels' new coach won't be on the road too much to meet with recruits. That likelihood makes the hires around Belichick more crucial than ever. North Carolina football, however, has the resources and potential to evolve into a consistent ACC contender.
Overall, Lawrence Taylor's excitement over UNC's new hire indicates how the fanbase feels. Long thought of as a basketball school, North Carolina football is going to get more publicity than it ever has before. It'll be interesting to see how this experiment pans out in Chapel Hill.