Patriots Country

Report: Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Shuts Down NFL Rumors

New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick has shut down the rumors of an NFL return.

Evan Massey

Dec 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick speaks to those attending his hiring announcement at Loudermilk Center for Excellence.
Dec 12, 2024; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick speaks to those attending his hiring announcement at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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New England Patriots legendary head coach Bill Belichick returned to sideline, but not at the NFL level. He opted to make the jump to college football and become the North Carolina Tar Heels' new head football coach.

While he has only been there for a short period of time and has been very adamant about his excitement for the opportunity, NFL teams have reportedly been calling him with interest.

Belichick's thoughts about ditching North Carolina and returning to the NFL have now been revealed.

According to a report from NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Belichick has no plans to return to the professional level and is fully focused on the Tar Heels and his college coaching career.

"Bill Belichick has no plans to return to the NFL, per sources. I’m told his sole focus is on coaching and recruiting for North Carolina, as he continues building the Tar Heels’ future. He’s recruiting today in New Jersey."

It had been reported that Las Vegas Raiders' minority owner Tom Brady had been in contact with Belichick. Of course, the Raiders recently fired head coach Antonio Pierce.

Needless to say, it would have been wild to see Belichick leave North Carolina after such a short period of time to return to the NFL. That isn't going to be happening barring a major change.

Clearly, Belichick is all in on coaching college football. He has seemed to have a renewed energy since accepting the position and has obviously had interest in coaching college ball for quite some time.

That being said, it is going to be very interesting to see how things go for Belichick with the Tar Heels.

For all of the NFL teams that were hoping to be able to lure Belichick back to the professional level, they will have to look elsewhere. Thankfully, there are plenty of talented coaching candidates to be interviewed and hired.

No can ever say never when it comes to Belichick potentially returning to the NFL. But for now, he's very happy where he is and does not have interest in leaving.

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.

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