For the Las Vegas Raiders, Bill Belichick is off the board.
On Wednesday, the legendary head coach is finalizing a deal to become the new head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels football program.
The two sides had discussed the position over the past few days, according to The Guardian’s Ollie Connolly. According to Connolly, Belichick handed the university a 400-page “organizational bible” that gave the coach unprecedented power over the program and its inner workings.
Update: Belichick has agreed to become the next UNC coach. Belichick handed the school a 400 page “organizational bible” with structure, payment plans, staffing choices etc. decisions on whether to commit with UNC. He is expected to know their decision within 24 hours https://t.co/DAV2yX9Mn5
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) December 10, 2024
The reasons for the long courtship between Belichick and North Carolina have been largely due to the demands placed on the university by the coach. Such issues include, but were not limited to, the role of his son and University of Washington defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the salary demands of Belichick and his chosen assistants and the available resources for name, image and likeness deals.
Arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history, Belichick won six Super Bowls and three AP Coach of the Year awards during his time with the New England Patriots from 1999-2023. He is one of three head coaches to reach the 300-win mark (Don Shula, George Halas) and holds many coaching records, including division championships (17), playoff wins (19) and Super Bowl wins and appearances (six and nine, respectively).
Belichick was previously seen as a candidate for a potential job opening with the Raiders, largely due to the presence of former Patriots quarterback and Raiders part-owner Tom Brady. However, one of the major sticking points with Belichick’s candidacy would be that teams would have to cede at least a significant portion of control of team operations to him. According to The Athletic, the only team that was reportedly willing to give Belichick that degree of power was the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Belichick is now testing the collegiate coaching waters, while the Raiders will have to chart their course elsewhere.
