CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina bet big on Bill Belichick to elevate its football program beyond decades of also-ran status and mid-tier bowl appearances.
More simply, though, it was a bet Belichick could do something he never has before.
The 73-year-old with six Super Bowl titles as an NFL head coach is now a college rookie. He’s traded rosters of 30-somethings for recruiting teenagers yet to emerge from under their parents’ wings. He’s greeted donors at fundraising gatherings. And he’s working amid a wildly evolving landscape of player empowerment across college athletics.