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Colin Cowherd Throws Buckets of Water on Bill Belichick-to-UNC Idea

There are a lot of reasons to be skeptical.

Kyle Koster

Colin Cowherd cannot imagine Bill Belichick actually coaching North Carolina.
Colin Cowherd cannot imagine Bill Belichick actually coaching North Carolina. / The Herd on X

Bill Belichick interviewed for the North Carolina coaching job and word of that unusual occurrence leaked out on Thursday. Everyone is trying to figure out what it all means. One possibility is that arguably the greatest football coach in history just really loves coaching and the Tar Heels would afford him an opportunity to do that a year after doing media hits.

As hard as it is to believe, most people do not interview for jobs they have no interest in performing if they get the offer, so it's worth imagining Belichick roaming the sidelines next season with the singular goal of capturing an ACC crown.

Or maybe it's not worth the thought experiment after listening to Colin Cowherd's Friday commentary on his show.

"Some things just sound like a terrible idea," he said. "That is a terrible idea. Bill Belichick groveling to 18-year-olds. Yeah, that's not going to work. Say it out loud: Belichick with donors. Groveling to recruits. Doing TikTok videos to get a linebacker in Texas. This thing feels like the Grinch saying you know, I want to lead the Christmas parade. College football is more charisma than curmudgeon. And it's also 17 hours a week max of practice. Do your job is do your job really quickly."

Now, forget for a second that the Grinch actually carved the roast beast down in Whoville after a dramatic change of heart—and honestly quite a serious heart-expanding episode. That was only a story.

Nick Saban, the closest comparison to Belichick, put up his hands and said enough is enough as the college football landscape changed overnight. Cowherd went on to say that coaching both in the pros and college is not for everyone and it takes a certain skill set and outlook. Belichick may not have that and it's really hard to imagine him being the gregarious frontman for a program.

Most of these points were likely self-evident and most fans didn't need Cowherd enumerating the many reasons why Belichick to North Carolina is a longshot but it's nice to see him set expectations for those who may have gotten too excited by the report.

One thing we can all agree on is that if such a pairing actually comes to be it will be appointment television in the same way Deion Sanders has become at Colorado. Perhaps even more so.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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