Despite a brutal 4-8 campaign in his first year as head coach at North Carolina, head coach Bill Belichick is probably going to receive NFL interest from desperate teams. But is the interest mutual?
Judging by Belichick’s recent announcement, the answer is no.
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In a recent interview with Jim Gray for SiriusXM, Belichick made it clear that nothing has changed as far as his commitment to the North Carolina football program goes. He declared that he’s focused on building the program and is “excited about the direction” of the team.
“Nothing’s changed,” Bill Belichick said. “I’m where I was a month ago. I’m here at North Carolina. … We’re building a good program and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed in.”
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The Infamous Buyout
One of the main reasons that fans expected Belichick to be one-and-done at North Carolina regardless of the win-loss total was the buyout that reportedly dropped from $10 million all the way to just $1 million back in June.
Two NFL teams fired their head coaches in the middle of the season and four more head coaches were fired right after the season. Any one of them might see Belichick as a viable option and $1 million basically amounts to a rounding error for most of the NFL owners.
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Sep 1, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick on the field before the game at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
The hype around Belichick’s tenure with the program lasted all of one drive before North Carolina started falling apart at the seams against TCU in their season opener. The Tar Heels managed to climb over .500 with back-to-back wins over Charlotte and Richmond, but that would really be the high water mark of the entire season.
Four straight losses followed before the team briefly righted the ship with wins over Syracuse and Stanford (both of whom finished with losing records). They then finished with three straight losses against in-state rivals Wake Forest, Duke and N.C. State.
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This story was originally published by The Spun on Jan 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
