Almost two years ago, Bill Belichick came eerily close to becoming the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but ultimately lost out to Raheem Morris. After a year-long hiatus from coaching, the the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach is currently serving as the lead man at North Carolina, which has resulted in unfathomable disaster.
Belichick is regarded as possibly the greatest coach in NFL history, yet his success hasn't carried over to the college ranks. Through five games with the legendary Browns and Patriots coach at the helm, the Tar Heels are sitting at 2-3, but his time in Chapel Hill could be coming to an abrupt end.
Per sources: Bill Belichick has discussed buyout options with North Carolina’s hierarchy. Belichick has signalled a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout if he can find a soft landing with another team or in media
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) October 8, 2025
The 73-year-old is already under investigation by UNC for recruiting violations, marking a dramatic fall from grace from the man who masterminded one of the most iconic dynasties in football history. And all Falcons fans can do right now is rejoice that they managed to avoid falling into the trap.
Bill Belichick's North Carolina flop confirms Falcons dodged a major bullet
While UNC's only victories came against Charlotte and Richmond, all three of their losses came against Power Four opponents. The losses against TCU, UCF, and Clemson saw the Tar Heels be out-scored 120-31—and the stadium began to empty at halftime last weekend against Clemson.
In a modernized football world, Belichick's old-school ideals don't translate as well as they did 10 years ago. Additionally, college football and the NFL are vastly different games, and we have seen multiple coaches attempt to make the jump and fail miserably.
As Belichick has no prior coaching experience at the collegiate level, it should be no surprise to see him crash and burn—and only acccepted the job in hopes of advancing his son's coaching career. Despite bringing in 70 new players, he still has yet to make the type of instant impact fans were expecting from a Hall-of-Fame level coach.
The lack of on-field success is one thing, but the season's implosion has also seen a whirlwind of bad PR come to Chapel Hill. Belichick's highly-publicized relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson has been the subject of constant social media scutiny, and Hulu's season-long documentary about the program is no longer moving forward.
Meanwhile, the Dirty Birds are thriving with Morris. Michael Penix Jr. looks everything like the quarterback of the future he was expected to be, the defense has transformed into one of the best units in football, and even Kyle Pitts has managed to revive his career in Atlanta.
This goes to show you the ripple effect that can come with such a decision. If the Falcons had hired Belichick, who knows if they're enjoying the same momentum. For a decision that was once heralded as a big mistake, it now looks like one of the best decisions in franchise history.