Bill Belichick at UNC introductory press conference
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Bill Belichick will coach his first college season at the University of North Carolina in 2025. His debut is highly anticipated following a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.
Belichick is considered the greatest professional coach of all time. His trophy case contains eight Super Bowl rings, six of which came as a head coach with the New England Patriots.
Success at one level does not always guarantee success at the next. Many college football coaches have swung and missed in the NFL, and vice versa. Others, however, have bucked the trend.
Belichick will look to continue his winning ways in Chapel Hill. His first test comes against TCU on Labor Day.
NFL Coaches In College
Here, we’ll focus on coaches that either started or spent the majority of their careers in the NFL before moving onto the NCAA.
We’ll evaluate their Year 1 performances while also providing an overall college record. Let’s start with one of the best to ever do it at both levels.
Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll, Raiders
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Carroll started his head coaching career with the New York Jets, going 6-10 in one season. He then moved onto the Patriots, going 27-21 over three years before heading to USC.
With the Trojans, he went just 6-6 in Year 1, which was a one game improvement from the season prior. That would be the only time in his college career his squad didn’t win at least nine games.
Carroll won 10 games or more in seven of nine seasons to finish with a 97-19 record in Los Angeles. He won a national championship in 2004. He then returned to the NFL where he won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks.
Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels
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Kiffin spent just over one season at the NFL level, but it was technically the start of his head coaching career. He went 5-15 with the Raiders and was fired in 2008.
He took over at the University of Tennessee in 2009 where he went 7-6 in his first college season. He’s since experienced ups and downs.
He moved onto USC after just one year in Knoxville to replace the man listed above him on this list. He was fired by the Trojans before accepting the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic, and later Ole Miss.
With the Rebels, he’s entering his sixth season and looks to notch his third straight 10-win campaign. Across 13 college seasons, Kiffin’s gone 106-52.
Bill O’Brien
Bill O'Brien, Boston College Eagles
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Technically, he began his head coaching career at Penn State, where he spent two seasons, but the majority of his career has been in the NFL.
He coached the Texans for seven years, twice taking them to the postseason before being fired in 2020.
That firing led to a return to college. He landed at Boston College in 2024 where he went 7-6 in his debut season. He’s now looking ahead to Season 2 with the Eagles with hopes to bring them back to ACC relevance.
His overall college record is 22-15.
Jim Mora Jr.
Jim Mora Jr., UCLA Bruins
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Mora started his head coaching career in 2004 with the Atlanta Falcons. He also spent one season with the Seahawks, going 31-33 in the NFL.
He was later hired by UCLA in 2012, providing an immediate spark for the program. In Year 1, he went 9-5, a three-game improvement from the season before. He then posted back-to-back 10-win campaigns.
Unfortunately, things fell off after that. He parted ways with the Bruins in 2017 with an overall mark of 46-30. He’s since landed at Connecticut where he’s entering Year 4.
NFL Coaches In College: Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith, Houston Texans
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Smith coached 11 seasons in the NFL before moving onto college. The majority of those seasons were spent with the Chicago Bears.
With the organization, he was 81-63 with a Super Bowl appearance. He also spent two years with the Bucs, going 8-24.
After his time in Tampa, he was hired by Syracuse. He struggled to find success with the Orange as his first season ended with a 3-9 record. It was one of five straight losing campaigns.
Smith left Syracuse having gone 17-39 over five years. He later returned to the NFL as a head coach for one season with the Texans.
Herm Edwards
Herm Edwards, Arizona State Sun Devils
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Edwards coached the New York Jets for five years. He also roamed the sidelines for three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He ended his eight-year NFL stint with a 54-74 overall mark. Following a 2-14 final pro campaign, he went the college route.
Edwards landed at Arizona State in 2018 where he spent five seasons. He recorded a 7-6 output in his first season. That improved to 8-5 in Year 2.
The Sun Devils went 11-9 in his final three years before he was fired amid controversy.
Dave Wannstedt
Dave Wannstedt, Pitt Panthers
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Wannstedt coached in the NFL from 1993 to 2004 as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears. He went 82-87 across 11 pro seasons.
He moved to college in 2005 where he led the Pitt Panthers. He took over a program went 8-4 the year prior. The Panthers went 5-6 in Wannstedt’s first season to miss a bowl game.
After posting three consecutive seasons at or below .500, he ripped off three straight winning campaigns to end his career. That included a 10-win output in 2009 that saw his team finish 15th in the final AP Poll.
Wannstedt finished his college career with a 42-31 overall mark.
Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan, Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Callahan coached the Raiders in 2002 and 2003. He went 11-5 in his first season, which ended in a Super Bowl appearance.
Unfortunately, things fell apart the very next year as the team went 4-12. He moved onto the college ranks in 2004 with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
His time in Lincoln was up and down. He went 5-6 in Year 1 before posting eight and nine-win campaigns the next two seasons.
His tenure with the program ended after a 5-7 output in 2007, pushing his overall record to 27-22. Callahan later returned to the NFL, where he was the interim head coach for Washington in 2019, going 3-8.