Among the many questions surrounding Bill Belichick becoming the head football coach at North Carolina is how a 72-year-old former NFL coach who’s never had to recruit high school and college players before would fare at getting talent to come to Chapel Hill.
That might not be an issue if players want to join Belichick at UNC.
Belichick addressed this topic during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday when asked what his sales pitch will be to players.
“We’ve been talking to a number of players and we have more coming in this week as part of the [transfer] portal. That closes on Sunday,” Belichick explained. “We have guys coming in pretty much every day this week. Still talking to a couple of high school players who signed.”
“We’ve been talking to a number of players and we’ve got guys coming in every day this week..
We’re selling the program but a lot of players and agents are coming to us saying that we wanna be part of the program” ~ Coach Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/OI5Bcy9vji
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 16, 2024
One of those players is quarterback Bryce Baker, who reaffirmed his commitment to the Tar Heels on Saturday. Rivals ranks Baker as the No. 7 QB nationally and the No. 3 prospect in North Carolina at his position. He was the top ranked player in UNC’s 2025 recruiting class, so keeping him committed was a big win for Belichick.
“The majority of them are transfer players in the portal and that portal will extend a little bit as the College Football Playoffs go and teams get eliminated,” Belichick added. “We’re selling the program but quite honestly, we’ve had a lot of players and agents coming to us and say ‘We want to be part of the program,’ ‘Is there a spot for us,’ would you take this player, that player and so forth.”
Many of the agents representing players in the transfer portal have also dealt with Belichick and his staff in the NFL, so relationships have been previously established.
Belichick’s remarks confirm what many viewed as reasons why he might find college football appealing and why he might not be at a disadvantage with recruiting. The transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) have changed how college programs build rosters and pursue players. Having connections in talent-rich regions and energetically chasing recruits are still important. But players are now approaching high-profile coaches as much as, if not more than, coaches are visiting homes.
The success of Deion Sanders at Colorado has demonstrated how a program can be built differently now. Players want to be a part of what he’s doing. As Belichick confirmed, it has similarities to how draft prospects and free agents are sought after in the NFL.
“We’re spending money, not as much as we spent in the NFL, but tossing around a little bit of money,” Belichick said. “I enjoy seeing the players getting compensated for the arrangement that they’ll be going into. It’s a new landscape in college football but honestly, not too different… this part of the process is not too different from what we’ve dealt with in the NFL.”
North Carolina is certainly hoping Belichick’s accomplishments in player development and winning are similar to what he achieved with the New England Patriots.