ISSUE XXXVIII
BILL BELICHICK
F O O T B A L L’ S N E W E R A
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR former New England Patriots head coach. The attention he’s brought to Chapel Hill goes far beyond college football and even beyond pro football. An average sports fan might not know where Choo Choo Justice or Lawrence Taylor went to school. But they know that on Sept. 1 they will be tuned in to watch Carolina play TCU in the season opener just for the opportunity to see Belichick on the sidelines. Is he going to wear a hoodie? Will he cut the sleeves off? What about the weekly radio show at Top of the Hill? We don’t have the answers to all of those questions—or any of those questions—at the moment. But we did want to design this issue to help Tar Heel fans get to know our new coach—that still feels a little weird, doesn’t it?—a little better.
In mid-February, Jones Angell and I had the opportunity to interview Bill Belichick for an episode of the Carolina Insider podcast. The response was fascinating. Numerous people I never knew paid attention to podcasts (and I’d encourage you to look up the interview on your podcast platform of choice or the video on YouTube) had thoughts or comments. Every detail and question was scrutinized. But there was one overwhelming question: What was he like? Not what did he say about Carolina’s quarterback depth. Not how does he plan to make the Tar Heels more consistent on defense. Not even how does he plan to make the Heels competitive in the transfer portal.
So there are stories here to help you learn more about his background and coaching philosophies. Lee Pace digs into the structure of Carolina’s head coach/general manager organization, which has taken on a much more prominent role in the Belichick regime. Several Tar Heels with NFL experience explain what it’s like to compete with or against Belichick, and what that might mean for Tar Heel football this fall. And Bubba Cunningham tells fans what this hire means for the football program and the entire athletic department. The Belichick hire is an important story on so many different levels, spearheaded by one of the most enigmatic figures in the sporting world today. Now that he’s one of us, we’ll learn more about him in the months and years to come. This issue is designed to be a starting point and give you a little better idea of what the Belichick Tar Heel era might hold. And, yes, what he’s like.
What was he like? As Tar Heel fans have learned since Belichick was hired on December 11, 2024, sports fans are fascinated by the
Adam Lucas Editor in Chief
PRODUCED BY THE RAMS CLUB // EDITOR IN CHIEF ADAM LUCAS // CONTRIBUTING WRITERS LEE PACE & ANDREW STILWELL // PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY CAMARATI, AINSLEY E. FAUTH, & UNC ATHLETICS // DESIGN JUJUBE SPORTS PUBLISHING
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— CAROLINA MEN’S LACROSSE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR DAVE PIETRAMALA, WHO HAS BEEN CLOSE FRIENDS WITH BILL BELICHICK FOR TWO DECADES
BILL BELICHICK edition
ON THE COVER: Belichick’s first Tar Heel spring practice will conclude with an open practice at 6:30 p.m. on April 12. COVER PHOTO: UNC ATHLETICS TOC PHOTOS: JEFFREY CAMARATI, AINSLEY E. FAUTH, & UNC ATHLETICS
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EDITOR’S LETTER p. 3
CAROLINA EVERYWEAR p. 16
TAR HEEL TICKER p. 6
26 A Simple Plan THE BELICHICK ISSUE
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10 The Carolina Connection Belichick’s return to Chapel Hill reconnects several longstanding ties BY ADAM LUCAS
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His Blood 18 In Bill Belichick’s lifelong interest in a sport other than football will benefit Carolina lacrosse BY ANDREW STILWELL
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24 In The Arena
Tar Heels who competed against and with Bill Belichick at the highest level explain what they learned from the experience BY BORN & BRED STAFF
Michael Lombardi still treasures a 1991 handwritten note from Bill Belichick that provides the blueprint for how to build a team BY LEE PACE
30 By The Numbers THE BELICHICK ISSUE
The athletic department hopes an investment in football pays dividends throughout Carolina athletics BY ANDREW STILWELL
34 Fully Invested THE BELICHICK ISSUE
Carolina is making a complete commitment to the football program in an effort to boost both the football team and the entire athletic department BY ADAM LUCAS FIRST PERSON
38 A Carolina Crash Course Belichick ensured his new Tar Heel staff learned the Carolina basics BY KEVIN DONNALLEY
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R MEMBER RESPONSES
FOOTBALL’S NEW ERA
We asked Rams Club members what excites them most about the new Belichick era
Mark Hirschhorn // Briarcliff Manor, NY The attention it brings to the program and the University. It obviously will attract recruits because they would be playing for perhaps the greatest coach in NFL history and could potentially help them get to the NFL.
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Halee Thomas // Statesville, NC I am excited for Carolina Football to once again be the way it felt when I was a little girl: authentic! The Belichick era is definitely fueling a lot of buzz in the Tar Heel fandom that we haven’t had in a while, which will make the season even more exciting like it once was. Not to mention, Belichick’s track record of building a disciplined team gives me hope that Carolina will once again become one of the strongest opponents in the ACC and put the Tar Heel nation back on top! Nathan Riley // Apex, NC Chapel Bill sending the Heels straight to Win City! Ruby Schober-Colburn // Asheville, NC UNC on top. Doug Weatherspoon // Cary, NC I heard a rumor that Bill Belichick would be interviewed for the available head coaching vacancy. Initially, I thought this was a made-up story to get other high-profile coaches interested in becoming our next coach. When the rumors turned into reality and the official announcement came that Coach Belichick will be our next head coach, it sparked a new fire in me as a fan! When I received my 2025 season renewal reminder, I placed my order immediately. With Coach Belichick’s coaching style and bringing his own assistant coaches, it should help to reshape the culture with a focus of solidifying the trenches. I am really excited about the new recruits, new brand, and the new recruiting philosophy. Opening the Belichick era in Kenan against TCU will definitely be a memorable moment! That Monday night atmosphere will be electric!
Samuel Vaught // Atlanta, GA Carolina Football is getting a restart, a new look on the field, and literally, the field itself. I’m looking forward to a new mindset and a winning culture. I’ve been saying for years, “There is NO reason we can’t be a basketball school AND a football school! The Belichick Era gives us the chance to prove we can be a great football program. I get season tickets and come up from Atlanta to almost every home game because I love Carolina Football. We can do this, and we have the commitment from the university now to help fund this effort. I’m excited about the recruits and transfers we got in a short amount of time for next year and 2026 should be even better. The future is bright and it is a #GDTBATH. Barbara Senich // Chapel Hill, NC I write this as a 35-year long Steelers fan (major rival of the Patriots) so you know I am sincere when I say I am truly grateful that Coach Belichick chose to return to Carolina. I believe he will transform college football as we know it—setting the new standard for “what great looks like.” While it is beyond exciting for fans, I believe the greatest beneficiaries will be the student-athletes—which is as it should be. Coach Belichick could have done anything and gone anywhere and yet he, thankfully, chose to come home to Carolina. Ryan Stack // Carrboro, NC Coach Bill bringing accountability and toughness to the team. I experienced Bill’s motto carried through the people in New England for the past 20 years and it will ride through NC soon. John Ansbro // Belmont, NC What excites me the most is a new approach on navigating the everchanging world of college football. Coach Belichick is providing our program with an NFL mentality and culture, which I think will benefit the student athletes whether they go pro or not. College football is a business now more than it has ever been. When it comes time for the school to start paying the players directly (on top of NIL), I think having Coach Belichick and his staff will enable us to make difficult decisions on how to build the team in a way that will help us compete for championships. I love that Coach Belichick is embracing our brand and likewise we are embracing his brand of football. The combination of the two make me think winning at the highest level is in our future. Vincent Abraham // Chapel Hill, NC I’m most excited about the Bill Belichick era in Chapel Hill because it will create not only a new and exciting environment for the players but for our community as well. The college landscape is changing in a lot of ways and I’m super proud of our university for investing in our beloved football program. Reginald Wright // Vestavia Hills, AL We loved Mack Brown and what he did for UNC Football and supported him both tours with our attendance to games. What is exciting is that UNC decided to adjust to the new era quickly by hiring the best possible leaders to build our football program into what could become the new model for NIL Football.
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TA R H E E LT I C K E R Shane Cassida // Burnsville, NC We are thinking “outside the box” and this has people everywhere talking about the university we love. Dennis Goss // Chapel Hill, NC I am excited to see UNC finally awaken the sleeping giant by committing the investment needed to enable Belichick to take the Heels to the top!
Hardy Weatherspoon // Raleigh, NC Recruiting and filling the team with guys who are bought into the system and have a burning desire to win games for the program and University. It’s exciting knowing that Belichick will not tolerate anything less! Robert Lauterborn // Chapel Hill, NC Professionalism, authority, and competence. Nathaniel Needham // Robbins, NC Hope. There is a buzz unlike before, there is hope that we will become something to be proud of. I go to every game home and away. I live and die by this team and for once I don’t have to make up some hope no one else believes in. This time it’s real, this time it is actual hope! Rob Patton // Raleigh, NC With the changes in the landscape of college football, I am looking forward to seeing the effect of a strong NIL budget in acquiring players that will make a difference and make football fun at UNC again. I am hoping that with this new era our fans will fill the stadium game in and game out, which we haven’t done in quite a while. I also hope, as a member of the Carolina Football Family, that we former players will continue to be able to get together before games and at halftime and have the events we have had the last several years. I am excited about the energy around football at UNC now, and hope that it is sustainable! William Letrent // Bedford, PA The press conferences and talk shows with the coach. In the NFL, he wasn’t very talkative to the media. Should be interesting to see how he adapts to the media at UNC.
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Taylor Ellis // Greensboro, NC The hiring of Bill Belichick marks a bold and unmistakable shift in Carolina Football’s ambitions. This is a clear statement from the university that it’s ready to be a serious contender on the national stage. For years, Carolina has flirted with relevance in football but bringing in one of the greatest coaches of all time signals that the administration is fully committed to competing at the highest level. With Belichick at the helm, expect a new level of discipline, preparation, and recruiting prowess that could transform the program’s identity. The energy inside Kenan Stadium is bound to be electric, as fans recognize that this isn’t just another coaching hire—it’s a game-changer. Saturdays in Chapel Hill are going to feel different, with a buzz and anticipation that come with knowing the Tar Heels are building something real. From game days to national conversations, this move elevates the entire culture of Carolina Football. If the university is willing to go all-in like this, fans will follow, and the atmosphere will only get better. It’s an exciting time to be a Tar Heel. Cyrus Tracy // Chapel Hill, NC I am excited about all of it, but I just CAN’T WAIT to be in Kenan Stadium on that Monday night in September against TCU. The atmosphere is going to be unparalleled, like nothing we have ever seen. David Stadiem // Fuquay Varina, NC Excellence. Operating at a high level that sets a new precedent for the brand of Carolina football. There is a pedigree that Coach Belichick and Michael Lombardi speak to that this fanbase gets really excited to hear about. We have not heard talk like that before and that commitment to excellence is what excites all generations of supporters. Tom Luper // Heathsville, VA That Tar Heel Football will now have a culture of strength, being prepared for anything that can arise in a game and taking care of business on and off the Field.
TA R H E E LT I C K E R Caroline Bailey // Charlotte, NC I am excited about the football culture Belichick is bringing to Carolina. UNC is known for our superior basketball program and the energy surrounding our basketball teams. Belichick is starting a crucial conversation about what Carolina Football should aspire to be. The national attention will make for a fun season, and I love seeing the effort he is putting into recruiting guys who want to be here for the long haul. Can’t wait for Saturdays in Kenan this fall! Joe Creech // Mt. Airy, NC The possibilities. Andrew Baysden // Charlotte, NC A world class coaching staff and team that is prepared to play hard. Michael Abernathy // China Grove, NC This shows all Tar Heel fans and the rest of the nation that we do indeed care about football and are putting our money where our mouth is. I am so proud that we are the leader in what I see as a new model for college football programs. Shout outs to the AD and the Chancellor for their vision and their boldness. Sarah Swanson // Charlotte, NC I am most excited about Belichick bringing his NFL experience to the collegiate level. With NIL and the transfer portal, it feels like college football is running even more like a business/the NFL. The expertise he has, along with the new GM position, I think will make an impact to the current players, recruits, and transfers. David McCarson // Franklin, VA A major culture change is coming for Carolina football. Relevance is coming. Tyler West // Pittsboro, NC The potential for College Gameday to make its way to Chapel Hill’s campus next season for the first time this century! Alexander Pickus // Madison, WI Free Pizza, Yum! Ada Taylor // Durham, NC I am so excited to finally have a coach who knows how to build up a team and not just a player. We’ve seen time and time again Carolina Football recruits great individual players, but when they come together they can’t seem to win. Coach Belichick knows what to look for in a player both in terms of individual talent and team potential, and I have no doubt that we will see the benefits of that very early in the 2025 season.
Cindy Savage-King // Archer Lodge, NC Though a Tar Heel born and bred and a two-time UNC grad, I lived in metro-Boston during the winning dynasty years of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. I laughed at the goofy sleeveless hoodies and the perpetual Belichick scowl. (I think he has smiled more since coming to UNC than all the years in New England.) I watched every Super Bowl and I saw the genius of the coach. And now that genius has come to my beloved school. Yee haw! I’m excited by what he said about bringing an NFL atmosphere to UNC because there is no one better equipped to do that. He’s going to blow up the recruiting field and the transfer portal and put the Heels on track to bring a National Championship to Chapel Hill. Greg Cauley // Kinston, NC While I’ve not followed the career of the new coach, once he was named to be the latest chief executive of our program, I paid attention to the things said about his style, past success, anecdotes, and possibly most important to me: his statements. Hearing that he expects accountability resonates in my world. Such promises have been made by others in the past but not enforced. Eli Lorberbaum // Chapel Hill, NC The winning culture he will create in the locker room which will translate to the on-field performance. His winning pedigree will inspire players to perform at the highest level they can. Amia Fox // Sanford, NC I am excited for the difference in the overall football experience! I am a first year, so I was beyond excited to be a part and see the “ University of National Champions” in action. When I first heard that Belichick was going to be the new coach, I was excited! More people, more fun, and better vibes are going to make the football experience so much more worth it. I don’t believe there will be a game where the stands aren’t packed. Having football as an experience that everyone now wants to be a part of could help build our school back up! Lawrence Mitchell // Wilmington, NC I like the fact that Coach Belichick is treating this opportunity at UNC like an NFL job. We deserve another ACC championship in football. Gary Klein // Tallahassee, FL I believe Bill Belichick, more than any current coach, can get Carolina Football closer to its potential zenith and I’m excited to see this experience. His emphasis on details and accountability ensures success over time. I hope no one expects an undefeated season out of the gate.
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THE BELICHICK ISSUE
BY ADAM LUCAS
PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CAMARATI, UNC ATHLETICS & LEE PACE 10 B O R N & B R E D
THE CAROLINA CONNECTION
THE CAROLINA
CONNECTION B
Belichick’s return to Chapel Hill reconnects several longstanding ties
ill Belichick was a wild man. That doubletake-inducing sentence was one of the essential memories recalled by Bill Koman, Sr., a member of Carolina’s football team during the mid-1950s. Koman’s son, Jim, has spearheaded an immensely generous series of donations to the University of North Carolina in a wide variety of areas. One of those helped create the Bill Koman Game Plan for Success, a comprehensive development program designed to help prepare Tar Heel football players for life after graduation. And while Jim Koman is excited about the prospect of Belichick on the Tar Heel sideline, he can’t help but chuckle when he recalls some of the stories his dad—who passed away in 2019—used to tell about the 1950s in Chapel Hill. Bill Koman’s time as a player overlapped with the assistant coaching tenure of Steve Belichick from 1953-55. During that time, Steve had just celebrated the birth of his son, Bill, in April of 1952. “My dad said Steve Belichick’s kids were around all the time during practice,” Jim Koman says. “Bill would come over, and my father said he was a wild man. He’d jump on my dad’s lap during team meetings. My dad was a big man, about 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, but he always loved kids. He said he’d have to tackle Bill to get him to slow down. When you meet Bill Belichick now, it’s kind of funny to
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THE CAROLINA CONNECTION
think about that version of him.” “This is where it all started for me,” Belichick says now. “I learned to walk, talk and follow my dad around to football practice and UNC basketball practice with Coach (Frank) McGuire.” That’s right—the Belichicks were regular visitors to Tar Heel basketball practice at Woollen Gym. The core members of the 1957 national championship team—a group that forever changed college basketball in the state of North Carolina—would have gone through practices under the curious eye of a youngster named Bill Belichick. Lennie Rosenbluth, Pete Brennan, Bob Cunningham, Tom Kearns and Joe Quigg were all on the 1955-56 Tar Heel basketball team and eventually became champions in 1957. At that time, Belichick’s presence would have barely been noteworthy. They were just a young family trying to gain a foothold in the coaching business. University Library research shows that the
Belichick family found rental housing on North Hillcrest Street in Carrboro, which was near present-day Hillcrest Avenue. When he was hired, Steve Belichick was being paid $500 per month, just short of the salary his son will receive in 2025. Bill Belichick would retain a Tar Heel connection throughout much of his coaching career. One of his foremost coaching experiences came as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 1985-90. Those teams included a game-changing linebacker named Lawrence Taylor, who remains one of the best players in the history of Carolina football. The pair won two Super Bowls together. “In my opinion, LT was the greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL,” Belichick says. “He was a force whenever he walked on the field, whether that was on defense or in the kicking game.” As head coach of the Patriots, Belichick continued to have frequent
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“THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED FOR ME. I LEARNED TO WALK, TALK AND FOLLOW MY DAD AROUND TO FOOTBALL PRACTICE AND UNC BASKETBALL PRACTICE WITH COACH (FRANK) MCGUIRE.”
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contributions from Carolina alumni. He coached Dee Hardison, Jimmy Hitchcock, Dexter Reid, Alge Crumpler, Brandon Tate and Tim Goad, and competed against numerous other Tar Heels. And somehow, his life always seemed to pull him back to Chapel Hill. During preparation for the 1992 NFL Draft, Belichick—then the head coach of the Cleveland Browns—and his general manager, Michael Lombardi, were looking for an escape from the frozen Cleveland landscape. They picked Chapel Hill and spent several days on campus watching tape and formulating a draft strategy. “Everything was first class,” Belichick says. “The school, the facilities, and a beautiful campus with Kenan Memorial Stadium set in the trees.” Their main takeaway: “Why can’t they win big here?” says Lombardi. And now the pair are back and winning big is their job description. There are signs that this was perhaps always supposed to happen. One of Steve Belichick’s closest friends when he was on the Tar Heel staff in the 1950s was a fellow assistant coach named Bill Edwards. Edwards’ great-granddaughter is currently enrolled at Carolina. And of course, there’s the important role played by the Koman family and its patriarch, who used to try and tackle the “wild man” who would become the head coach almost seven decades later. The players Belichick places on the UNC roster will occasionally practice
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in the Bill Koman Practice Complex and receive the benefits of the Koman Game Plan for Excellence. “Our job is to teach and train players on and off the field,” Belichick says. “Academic education is important—so is life education. With the new landscape in college football, the student-athletes in our program are learning life lessons. Life skills such as time management, team building, preparation and leadership are also part of our education.”
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C A R O L I N A E V E R YWE A R Rams Club members like to wear their Carolina Blue, and they’ll wear it all over the US and the world. If you have a photo of you in your Carolina gear in front of notable landmarks in the US and abroad, send them our way to be a part of Carolina EveryWear!
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To have your photo included: -Send your photo digitally to bornandbred@ramsclub.com. -Identify everyone in your photo and the location of the photo. Here are the “Rules”: -At least one person in the photo has to be a Rams Club member -You must be wearing Carolina gear -You must be in front of a notable landmark (sorry, as cool as Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center are, they don’t qualify). SHOW US YOUR COLORS!
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1) Greg Tuttle of Hillsborough, NC, on the Jungfraujoch glacier in Switzerland; 2) Sarah Swanson of Charlotte at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany; 3) Carol Odom, Sydney Odom & Ava Haraldsson of Lexington, NC, on the Black Sand Beach (Reynisfjara) in Iceland; 4) Hank & Alisa Debnam of Fayetteville, NC, in Skagway, AK; 5) Chris & Suzanne Marshall of Spartanburg, SC, at the Maui Invitational; 6) Brian & Jennifer Limper of Clayton, NC, at the South Kaibab Trail at the Grand Canyon; 7) Jane Walsh with Ann & Steve Yokeley of Mount Airy, NC, overlooking Port of Spain, Trinidad; 8) Cathy Howes & Holly Holland of Chapel Hill at Luis I bridge in Porto, Portugal; 9) Keith & Julia McCombs of Fuquay-Varina, NC, with Adam, Traci, Morgan & Micah McCombs at the Maui Invitational; 10) Mike & Kathy Ingram of Sanford, NC, at Normandy, France; 11) Scott Groome & Jonathan Groome of Peachtree City, GA, at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming; 12) Jessica & Robert Guerrero of Simpsonville, SC, at Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany; 13) Marli & Andrew Boyd of Raleigh along the Singelgracht Canal in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 14) Joe & Cindy Xavier of Toronto, ON, at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; 15) Brandon Hartzell of Stephens City, VA, at London Tower in London; 16) Cheryl Miller & Allison Holifield in St. John, New Brunswick; 17) Jeff Griffeth, Jay Jones, Will Patterson & David Karatz on the Swilcan Bridge on The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland; 18) Ken & Pat James of Winston-Salem, NC, at Neko Harbour, Antarctica; 19) Nathan Cheesman, Carly Collette, Kelly & Perry Collette of Chapel Hill on the island of Hawaii
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IN HIS BLOOD
IN HIS BLOOD
BILL BELICHICK’S LIFELONG INTEREST IN A SPORT OTHER THAN FOOTBALL WILL BENEFIT CAROLINA LACROSSE BY ANDREW STILWELL // PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CAMARATI AND AINSLEY E. FAUTH
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hen looking at the coaching accolades for Bill Belichick, it’s easy to find the football highlights. He’s got eight Super Bowl rings, including six as a head coach. He’s one of only three coaches in NFL history with 300-plus wins. The list goes on. However, what you might not immediately see in Belichick’s coaching history is his stint as a volunteer assistant at Birmingham Detroit Country Day School—not in football, mind you, but rather in lacrosse. “[Coaching at Birmingham Detroit Country Day] was a great experience for me,” Belichick said at a Super Bowl LIII press conference in 2019. “It was fun to continue to be involved in the sport of lacrosse, in a different community, outside of Maryland or Connecticut where I played. It was fun to be part of the areas outside of kind of the traditional ones, developing it as a sport.” While his resume screams “football guy,” Carolina’s new head football coach definitely has a spot in his heart for lacrosse–a sport he’s been associated with since his childhood.
COACHING ON THE FIELD
Even though more than six decades have passed, Belichick is quick to rifle off some of his favorite players of the era when asked about what he remembered about the sport in his early days–growing up in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father, Steve (a former Carolina football assistant coach), was a longtime assistant for the Naval Academy. “I think about watching Navy football players play lacrosse at Navy under Bill Bilderback, watching them excel and win national championships through the ‘60s,” Belichick told GQ in a 2023 interview. “Navy had great teams, and it seemed like half the team was made of football players and they would go out for lacrosse instead of playing spring ball. Those were the days when
guys would come to the Naval Academy, and had never heard of lacrosse before, but would be All-Americans by their sophomore year.” As for his own playing career, Belichick played all over the field – as a defenseman at Annapolis High School, an attacker at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and as a midfielder and backup goalie at NCAA Division III Wesleyan College in Connecticut, where he also was a member of the Cardinal football program as a center and tight end. By his senior year, Belichick was named captain of the lacrosse team. “It was a great experience,” Belichick told Lacrosse Magazine’s Paul Carcaterra in a 2016 Interview. “We weren’t too good my first two years but had some pretty good teams my last two years.” “He was an excellent player,” former Birmingham Detroit Country Day Middle School athletic director Kevin Spencer, who played both football and lacrosse at Springfield (Mass.) College, told the Detroit Free Press in 2019. “It’s funny, I tell people that we used to get scouting reports, and they’d say Belichick could go right, left, blah, blah, blah. And then they’d say, ‘Coach on the field.’ The guy that ran the team was a soccer coach, and he really probably did it just so they would have a team. Bill had himself and there was a contingent of guys from Annapolis that went to school there and they kind of, respectfully, ran the team.”
COACHING OFF THE FIELD
Following his collegiate career, Belichick held several NFL assistant jobs, first with the Baltimore Colts and later with the Detroit Lions. It was during his time with the Lions where his (volunteer) lacrosse coaching career began. “I think he just showed up with a lacrosse stick and introduced himself,” former Birmingham Detroit Country Day lacrosse coach
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GETTING READY
Gene Reilly told the Free Press. “I knew of his dad, I didn’t know him. But he was great. He read in the paper or something that we had lacrosse going on. He said, ‘I was shocked, and I just took it upon myself to come out.’ I said, ‘Oh, great.’ He said, ‘Do you mind if I come out a few days a week?’ I said, ‘No.’ I said I need another good assistant coach.” While he was part of the lacrosse program in Detroit between 19761977, it was not his only foray into the sport. All three of Belichick’s children–Amanda, Steve, and Brian– played lacrosse growing up and into their collegiate years: Amanda at her father’s alma mater, Wesleyan; Steve at Rutgers; and Brian at Division III Trinity College. “Lacrosse has had a pretty big impact on my entire family,” Belichick said. “We were in Cleveland, and then moved to New England and Long Island, and that was kind of the formative years for the kids growing up. They got a stick in their hand–once we got to New England, and New York, and back to New England, they were playing every spring, every summer, and going to summer camps.” While Steve and Brian followed their dad into coaching
football–both now on the Tar Heel football staff—Amanda stuck with lacrosse, and is now head coach at Holy Cross, though she originally had no plans of following her dad into coaching. Her alma mater’s athletic director might disagrees with that sentiment. “As players, both Bill and Amanda loved to watch film and talk game strategy with their coach,” Wesleyan athletic director Mike Whalen told Sports Illustrated in 2017. “It was clear that each was destined for the coaching profession.” Upon getting her first coaching job at Choate Rosemary Hall High School in Connecticut, Amanda and Bill took a 30-minute bike ride where they talked coaching. “Amanda started with the basics. ‘How do you be a head coach?’ she asked. ‘Like, what do you do’?” recounted SI’s Jacob Feldman “That was the beginning of a series of coaching clinic conversations, not focused on Xs and Os but on how to talk to players, how to plan your time—the important things.” “He was a championship-winning coach, and he told her everything he knew about being a good coach. Trust in the
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“LACROSSE HAS HAD A PRETTY BIG IMPACT ON MY ENTIRE FAMILY. WE WERE IN CLEVELAND, AND THEN MOVED TO NEW ENGLAND AND LONG ISLAND, AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE FORMATIVE YEARS FOR THE KIDS GROWING UP.”
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IN HIS BLOOD process. Build relationships. Get the stick work right. Results are secondary,” wrote ESPN’s Aishwarya Kumar in 2019. While Belichick rarely showcases nerves as a coach, watching his daughter coach is another situation entirely. “It’s a lot tougher being a parent. Especially when they coach, because you live and die on every possession and every play,” Belichick once said in an interview. “When they’re playing, it’s only when they’re involved. It’s fun to watch her coach–and I’m really proud of her. It does get the blood pressure up a little bit watching her coach, though.”
FRIEND OF THE PROGRAM
Belichick’s love for lacrosse was evident during his time in New England, where he worked alongside—and at least in one instance, coached–a number of former collegiate lacrosse players with the Patriots. When his hiring was officially announced in December, Belichick traveled to Chapel Hill for a press conference. Once on campus, his first stop was not the Kenan Football Center, but rather the lacrosse offices in the Loudermilk Center for Excellence, where the new head football coach left a note for men’s lacrosse head coach Joe Breschi. “My first stop on campus is the lacrosse office,” Breschi told USA Lacrosse Magazine of the note Belichick coach had written him. “Look forward to seeing you.” Belichick’s connections with Carolina lacrosse go back two decades, when Belichick first met assistant coach Dave Pietramala, formerly the head coach at Johns Hopkins. “I met him in the fall of 2005, after we had won our championship,” Pietramala said. “He reached out to say congratulations and wanted to chat. Interestingly enough, when we spoke, I wanted to know everything I could learn about what he was doing with the Patriots–but he wanted to know everything we were doing about lacrosse. “For me, it was a great opportunity to talk to a multi-time Super Bowl champion and talk about what his philosophy was and what it takes to win at that level,” he continued. “I wanted to know what he believes in and what he emphasizes, because what separates people is what you emphasize. He is a lacrosse enthusiast. He is a historian, and he knows the game. He loves the history of sports. We were coming off an undefeated national championship, and he wanted to know what we did, how we inspired the team, how we handled one-goal wins. It was a conversation in which both sides were very inquisitive.” The pair have remained friends ever since. “We spoke a few more times after that,” Pietramala said. “At the end of the 2006 season, we got together at the All-American banquet and sat for three hours and talked about everything from coaching to motivating to recruiting and drafting. Ever since then,
we have been very close.” When Pietramala got married last summer, both Belichick and Breschi attended the ceremony, where they were seated together. While the conversation started surrounding lacrosse, the topic eventually shifted to Carolina football. In late 2024, when the head coaching position became available, Breschi sent a message to his now co-worker. “I texted him when the job opened, ‘Hey, I know we had that conversation. Let me know if you need anything,’” Breschi told USA Lacrosse. “He said, ‘Yeah, I’m interested in speaking with them.’” Since arriving in Chapel Hill full time, Belichick has already thrown his full support behind the lacrosse program, opening recruiting doors for Coach Breschi and his staff. “We’ve lost a lot of recruits who play two sports,” Breschi said to USA Lacrosse, noting examples of North Carolina lacrosse commits who opted to play football elsewhere in college because they were unable to do so at Carolina for one reason or another. “Now that we have Belichick, he’s like, ‘Whatever you need for the lacrosse program, let me know.’ To have a lacrosse guy in that role is enormous.”
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IN THE ARENA
TAR HEELS WHO COMPETED AGAINST AND WITH BILL BELICHICK AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL EXPLAIN WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIENCE PHOTO BY JEFFREY CAMARATI
James HURST
COMPETED AGAINST BELICHICK WITH THE RAVENS AND SAINTS DURING HIS TEN-YEAR NFL CAREER. “Coach Belichick has unprecedented experience and success at the NFL level. College football hasn’t seen anyone like him. Ever. “The outlying trait of Belichick-coached teams is their discipline. They forced you to make the plays required to beat them. His teams would never give away games. From the top of the roster to the bottom, the players were uniquely prepared for their opponents and clearly understood what the game plan was on game days.”
24 B O R N & B R E D
IN THE ARENA
Jeff SATURDAY
PART OF A DYNAMIC COLTS TEAM THAT WAS ONE OF NEW ENGLAND’S PRIMARY RIVALS, AND FINISHED HIS 14YEAR NFL CAREER WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS. “He coached to the strength of his players and team. If the defense needed to shine–they put the emphasis there, if offense–then they did it, special teams the same. “He was always multiple–meaning you might face two entirely different game plans in the first and second halves. He was constantly making in-game adjustments. “He coached technique and fundamentals as well as anyone. He teaches players how to be great with what talent they have.”
Ronnie MCGILL
WORKED WITH THE PATRIOTS AS A SCOUT FROM 2010-2020. “Anything is as important as everything. There was only one level of attention to detail that was acceptable. Sometimes you work with people who say that then there are people who live by that. Bill lives by it. You know whatever is asked is held to that standard, which is not up for debate. “We all lived by the rule. From players, to coaching staff, personnel department, to the rest of the staff. It can be hard on you but it made each of us the best at what we were doing, which in turn made the organization the best at what we were trying to accomplish. It was demanding but you have to look back and appreciate it because it brought out the best in each of us.”
Alge CRUMPLER
COMPETED AGAINST BELICHICK FROM 2001-2009 WITH THE FALCONS AND TITANS, THEN JOINED THE PATRIOTS FOR THE 2010 SEASON, WHEN HE STARTED TEN GAMES AND CAUGHT A PAIR OF TOUCHDOWN PASSES. ON COMPETING AGAINST BELICHICK:
“I learned his teams play hard, they tackle well and when they hit you they mean business. I’ve been most impressed with the ability of his teams to adjust a game plan on the fly, and most importantly finish games.”
ON PLAYING FOR BELICHICK:
“If you want to play, you will show up and compete every day. You will be tested! Coach will find out what you do well and play to those strengths. I’ve enjoyed playing for Bill because he shows true passion for the game. Our players at UNC will be held accountable to each other. Most importantly, he understands what it takes to win.”
ON WHAT BELICHICK WILL BRING TO CAROLINA:
“I learned a lot of new things in the game of football in my 10th season in the NFL. A lot of that was sitting and talking with Coach Belichick in our meetings and communicating with the staff every day. Our players will play faster with more confidence and they will win! Our fans need to trust and support that the pro model is where college ball is going. Why not start with a GM and Coach that have done it better than anyone else?”
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THE BELICHICK ISSUE
T
A Simple Plan
Michael Lombardi still treasures a 1991 handwritten note from Bill Belichick that provides the blueprint for how to build a team BY LEE PACE // PHOTO BY JEFFREY CAMARATI
26 B O R N & B R E D
he San Francisco 49ers had just won the Super Bowl following the 1984 season (one of three that Coach Bill Walsh would collect over a decade), with quarterback Joe Montana and cornerback Ronnie Lott getting a lot of accolades and attention. But the 49ers’ ability to salt away the Giants, Bears and Dolphins in the playoffs (no game was closer than 11 points) was due in large measure to the play of a rock-solid offensive line (anchored by three Pro Bowlers in Randy Cross, Keith Fahnhorst and Fred Quillan) and a ferocious defensive front (with Manu Tuiasosopo and Jim Stuckey leading the way). That spring, Walsh asked Michael Lombardi, a 25-year-old scout, to prepare a report for the upcoming NFL Draft on three receivers—one of whom, Jerry Rice, would be taken in the first round of the 1985 draft and go on to a Hall of Fame career. Lombardi queried Walsh on his thinking. “Now, we’re finally in position to go get a big-time receiver,” Walsh said. “The team is really good around him. We can get the ball to a great player now, we’re good in both lines.” Lombardi brings the story back to the present. “That’s impacted me my whole life,” he says. Six years later, Bill Belichick had just been hired as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Lombardi was now five years into his tenure as pro personnel director for the Browns. “The press conference was over, and Bill walked into my office,” Lombardi says. “He sat down and wrote on a piece of paper: ‘We are going to build a big, fast, physical football team that can play in any kind of weather, that is mentally tough and will control the middle of the field.’” Lombardi reflects once again on how his career mindset germinated years ago. “I’ve been on that journey with Bill ever since,” he says. “We scout inside-out, not outside-in.” And he ties it into Super Bowl LIX, which was a one-sided affair in early February 2025 with the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolling Kansas City on both sides of the trenches, taking a 34-0 lead late in the third quarter (with an eventual 40-22 win). “There’s a formula for why teams win and why teams lose,” says Lombardi, who joined Belichick on the Carolina football staff as general manager in December. “It’s not difficult. Going back to when Vince Lombardi coached the Packers in the ‘60s and Bill Walsh the 49ers and Bill Belichick with the Giants and then the Patriots, it’s about who wins the line and who controls the game. There are always two elements in a game—who’s in the lead and who’s in control. It was pretty clear the Eagles were in the lead and in control. There’s no dispute on that. The only way you can get in control is through the offensive and defensive lines. “You build inside-out, from the lines to the receivers.” Etch that in stone. Write it in blood. Commit it to memory. If you need a road map to help follow as Belichick and Lombardi and a new cast of coaching and personnel characters work to build a new football program at Carolina, there you have it.
It’s going to start with the big boys in the middle. Consider this amazing factoid: Over the last decade, Carolina has had exactly two first-team All-ACC players on either line. Landon Turner was recognized in 2015 and Willie Lampkin in 2024. No one on defense was selected. Compare that to 1980, the Tar Heels’ last ACC title team. They had two first-team All-ACC players on each side of the ball—Rick Donnalley at center and Ron Wooten at guard on offense, Lawrence Taylor at end and Donnell Thompson at tackle on defense.
“
“PHILOSOPHICALLY, [BILL AND I] COME FROM THE SAME SCHOOL; THAT SCHOOL IS ABOUT BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM INSIDE OUT, ABOUT PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TOUGHNESS, ABOUT DEPENDABLE AND HARDWORKING PLAYERS.” And note this: Belichick himself played offensive line in high school in Annapolis, Md., where his father Steve was an assistant coach and scout for the Naval Academy, and at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. Steve directed his son to play center because, wrote David Halberstam in The Education of a Coach, “The boy was smart and strong for his size . . . and would know the game, and a smart center who knew how to read a defense was always valuable.” And he was tough, Halberstam noting that in his final year at Wesleyan, Belichick broke his thumb and asked the team doctor to remove the cast before the playoffs. The doctor refused. “So, on his own, he went down to the Naval Academy, where he saw the Navy team doctor, who looked at it and, knowing Belichick’s passion for the game, removed the cast. That was about sheer love of the game,” Halberstam wrote. Those themes keep cropping up as Lombardi talks of his job. Lombardi has spent his career in NFL personnel departments (he was with Belichick in Cleveland and New England) and most recently worked his entrepreneurial instincts and interests as an author, talk show and podcast host and motivational speaker. He was in a close circle of friends Belichick spoke with regularly during Belichick’s 2024 hiatus from coaching. When Belichick’s conversations with Carolina’s administration went into high gear in early December, Lombardi was a natural choice to become general manager in a college world more predicated than ever on roster management of high school recruits and portal transfers and spreadsheet analysis of salaries and NIL deals. “This program is built on the vision and the identity of the greatest coach of all time,” Lombardi says of Belichick’s eight Super Bowl
Bill Belichick’s unprecedented success means there is a mountain of reading material attempting to explain the inner workings of his teams. On the following pages, we’ll highlight some of the best. And remember— Belichick himself has a book coming out on May 6 entitled The Art of Winning.
The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam The gold standard of Belichick biographical information. One of America’s best writers with plenty of background on the people and places (including some fantastic Lawrence Taylor stories) that shaped one of America’s best coaches.
Belichick by Ian O’Connor Exhaustively researched by a writer who is an expert at these types of books. This one also has the advantage of being released nearly 15 years after Halberstam’s book, which gives O’Connor the ability to look more deeply into what made the Patriots dynasty work. ramsclub.com 27
THE BELICHICK ISSUE championships (two as defensive coordinator with the Giants, six as head coach of the Patriots). “I’m fortunate enough to have worked for him for a long time. Philosophically, we come from the same school; that school is about building a program from inside out, about physical and mental toughness, about dependable and hardworking players.” Through mid-February, Belichick had appeared on the Carolina Insider podcast and has regularly appeared on national sports shows and podcasts. Ditto for Lombardi, though he did meet with the local media the second week of February, the week after the National Signing Day for high school recruits. Lombardi was active in particular in January when Belichick was traveling the eastern seaboard recruiting and national media speculation had him entertaining overtures from NFL teams looking for new head coaches. “Why doesn’t Bill speak out? Bill doesn’t speak out,” Lombardi said in one interview. “That’s what I’m supposed to do as the general manager. He’s not going anywhere. I was with Bill every day in the fall. We talked about every single NFL job that could come up. Every time I brought one up as a possibility, he shot it down. He’s where he wants to be. “Every day driving to work and back we talk about how messed up the NFL is, and how thankful we are to be in college football. We’re shaking our heads. This is the best job we could have at this time of our lives. We’re going to embrace it and work hard to make North Carolina proud.” He speaks of the commotion the Belichick-to-Chapel Hill move has made. “The ACC is nervous,” he says. Of how the Tar Heel program will be run as pseudo-professional team. “We’re the 33rd team,” he says of the NFL’s established 32 franchises. “Everyone involved in our program has had some sort of aspiration for pro football.” He rarely uses the word talent without character in talking about mining high schools and the transfer portal for players. “In recruiting, you can never get a true, accurate portrayal of the heart
It’s Better to be Feared by Seth Wickersham The most recent book on this list, Wickersham has an in-depth knowledge of the Patriots and the day-today access to make this a compelling read. His obvious relationship with Tom Brady provides some interesting context on the Belichick-Brady relationship.
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and the character of a kid and of how important the game is to the player,” Lombardi says. “That’s the variable we’re always trying to figure out. So you ask a lot of questions. You look at the player and ask what obstacles they have overcome? A guy might be great in the five best highlight clips. But can he handle the volume of a season? We have to make him better than he is, and does he have the will to be better? That’s a hard thing to judge.” He’ll quickly swat away any assertion that the Tar Heels’ list of nearly 50 newcomers is too rife with players with modest evaluations from the recruiting services. “We believe in our eyes,” Lombardi says. “Red Auerbach had a great saying: ‘You get more information from looking at, not from talking.’ If you trust your eyes when you evaluate players, it doesn’t really matter if some other school wants them. All I know is from my 35 years or more in the NFL, I drafted players that weren’t recruited out of high school, that had no scholarship offers. There are always going to a lot of guys that don’t have the headlines, but you have to trust your instincts and trust your eyes.” One thing’s for certain: both Belichick and Lombardi have been reenergized with a new environment, a town and campus they visited as a Browns head coach and scout in the early 1990s, marveled over the weather and the aesthetics and wondered why no one had ever won consistently at Carolina. “We work for one of the top universities in America,” Lombardi says. “It’s harder to get into this school from out of state than it is to Yale or Harvard. They don’t take very many. We have a great brand. This UNC logo is worldwide. We shouldn’t limit ourselves. We can walk into any school and say, ‘We’re North Carolina, we have the greatest coach in the history of football and we have a great university, come play for us.’ That’s a powerful message. We’re going to be a national program. We will stand on firm ground against anyone.” And don’t forget that inside-to-out stuff. Lombardi says that piece of paper that Belichick scribbled in 1991 is going to the Hall of Fame one day.
Gridiron Genius by Michael Lombardi Definitely worthy of a slot on the Carolina football fan’s summer reading list, this is first-hand knowledge of how the Tar Heel football general manager believes in building a team. The foreword is written by Bill Belichick himself.
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BY THE NUMBERS THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT HOPES AN INVESTMENT IN FOOTBALL PAYS DIVIDENDS THROUGHOUT CAROLINA ATHLETICS
BY ANDREW STILWELL // PHOTO BY JEFFREY CAMARATI
30 B O R N & B R E D
BY THE NUMBERS
THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF FOOTBALL 2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR
PROFITS FOR CAROLINA FOOTBALL CAN SUSTAIN THE OPERATING BUDGETS FOR EVERY OTHER TAR HEEL VARSITY SPORT WITH A SURPLUS OF NEARLY $3.6 MILLION $66.9M
FOOTBALL WAS ~25% OF TOTAL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT EXPENSES
$40.1M
$40.1M
$60M
$40M
CAROLINA FOOTBALL REVENUE
CAROLINA FOOTBALL EXPENSES FOOTBALL WAS ~40% OF TOTAL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT REVENUE
$23.2M NET LOSS 26 OTHER SPORTS
$20M
$66.9M
EXCLUDING MEN’S BASKETBALL
$3.6M PROFIT
REVENUE
EXPENSES
NET LOSS
PROFIT
TWO STREAMS OF FOOTBALL REVENUE NEARLY COVER THE ENTIRE OPERATING BUDGET FOR 5 VARSITY SPORTS CAROLINA FOOTBALL ACC POSTSEASON REVENUE SHARE
DUKE’S MAYO BOWL
BASEBALL, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, FIELD HOCKEY, WOMEN’S SOCCER, AND SOFTBALL ENTIRE OPERATING BUDGET $2.5M
W
hen the hiring of Bill Belichick was announced this past December, a number of Carolina head coaches were thrilled for their new co-worker to arrive on campus. “Welcome to Chapel Hill, Coach Belichick! Looking forward to meeting you, working with you, and learning from you,” Carolina baseball skipper Scott Forbes posted on X. “You’re welcome at the Bosh anytime. #GoHeels” “Let’s go!” added volleyball coach Mike Schall. For women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart, who spent 29 years living in New Hampshire and counts David Halberstam’s The Education of a Coach , a book about Belichick’s career journey, as one of her favorite books, the hiring of Belichick was also an exciting announcement. “I’m a die-hard New England Patriots fan, and, of course, now
$5M
$7.5M
$10M
a die-hard Drake Maye fan,” Banghart told writer R.L. Bynum following an early season victory over UNC-Greensboro. “[I have] a lot of connections to that organization, and obviously Bill had had a ton of success up there.” “There’s a kindred spirit that you have with those who choose to coach, and they choose to do it here,” she continued. “I look forward to welcoming [Belichick] and being however helpful I can, and supporting his team, and I know that he’ll support ours.”
SUPPORT COMES IN MANY WAYS
The idea of “support” has been brought up many times in Bill Belichick’s first few months on the job. In a recent interview with the Carolina Insider podcast, he noted how impactful the support had been from not only the students and alumni, but within
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THE BELICHICK ISSUE Carolina’s athletic department as a whole. “It’s been fantastic on support—we’re trying to get to as many people as we can to not only build the football team–but to support the entire athletic program here at Carolina.” Belichick told Adam Lucas and Jones Angell. Shortly after his hiring, the six-time Super Bowl winner had the opportunity to meet his fellow head coaches at a reception organized by Chancellor Lee Roberts. “I had the chance to visit with the other coaches in the athletic department,” Belichick explained. “It’s a great group, and it’s great to be a part of it. We’ll support each other, and it will all work out.” Belichick has already worked with athletic director Bubba Cunningham to expand Carolina’s training table offerings at the Blue Zone to be more inclusive of all sports. The training table now includes breakfast and lunch service for all varsity athletes. While the support and camaraderie among Carolina coaches is a constant presence inside the Tar Heel athletic department and its coaching staffs, the impact of Carolina Football’s financial support is a driving force behind the overall success of the athletic department’s total operating budget.
BY THE NUMBERS
Only a handful of NCAA Division I colleges and universities can boast more athletics programs than North Carolina’s 28 varsity teams–15 women’s and 13 men’s. As we all know, many of those teams compete at the highest level, and are regularly competing for conference and national titles. However, that success inevitably comes with a price tag, as each team has their own budget line in Carolina Athletics’ “P&L” sheet. Of Carolina’s 28 varsity sports, only two are considered profitable–men’s basketball and football. While there are many factors at play, this is largely due to the media landscape in college sports today. When looking purely at the numbers of revenue compared to expenses in the most recent annual financial report for the 20232024 fiscal year, football made $66,910,074 in revenue, compared to $40,066,079 in expenses–a profit of $26,843,284. When removing men’s basketball from the equation, Carolina’s other 26 sports operated at a combined $23,244,540 deficit. This means that at its most basic level, the profits for Carolina Football could sustain the operating budgets for every other Tar Heel varsity sport, and you’d still be left with a surplus of nearly $3.6 million. While Carolina Football’s $40.1 million in expenses make up 25 percent of the total athletic department expenses, their $66.9 million accounts for more than 40 percent of the department’s revenues. There are a few revenue numbers that stand out for Carolina Football. First, football earned $13.4 million in ticket sales, second
32 B O R N & B R E D
only to men’s basketball’s $15.6 million. That number alone would cover the entire budget for up to 16 of Carolina’s athletic programs. Carolina Football earned nearly $8 million during 2023-2024 thanks to the ACC’s postseason revenue share, plus another $1.4 million related to its own participation in the 2023 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. These two amounts would nearly cover the budget for baseball, women’s basketball, field hockey, women’s soccer, and softball. Finally, a hot topic on the minds of college sports fans everywhere is television revenue, where Carolina Football earned $26.2 million during the 2023-2024 season, which represents 93 percent of Carolina Football’s total operating profit.
A FUTURE IN FOOTBALL
With the ever-changing college athletics landscape, investing resources in football not only prepares that team for success, but will likely positively affect the rest of Carolina athletics’ 27 other programs as well. “College athletics are changing dramatically, and the importance of football is only increasing and will continue to increase,” Carolina Chancellor Lee Roberts recently told the UNC Faculty Council. “We’re going to continue to invest in our football program. We started playing football here in 1888. Our football program is older than most of our academic departments, and we’re going to continue to make that a priority in the context of our overall athletics budget.” There have been investments made across the board while hiring Bill Belichick as Carolina’s next head coach–including a boost for assistant coaches and support staff, plus the impending revenue share that could begin this summer–in hopes that football success will translate into additional financial successes for the athletic department. It’s important to note that not every part of this equation is measurable in concrete dollars–and sometimes the benefits are intangible. Following Belichick’s hiring, Carolina’s season opener against TCU was moved from Saturday, August 30, to a standalone timeslot of 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 1. Rather than get lost in the shuffle of Week 1, all eyes will be on Chapel Hill. The “new world” of college athletics and revenue distribution relies heavily on viewership and an overall brand, and Belichick’s presence bolsters that brand. Dean Smith famously said, “Athletics is to the University like the front porch is to a home–it is the most visible part, yet certainly not the most important.” That same metaphor can be extrapolated to football and the athletic department. Carolina’s investment in football demonstrates the continued importance of the sport both to the University and to the excellence of the other Tar Heel athletic programs.
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THE BELICHICK ISSUE
BORN & BRED
Q&A WITH BUBBA
FULLY INVESTED CAROLINA IS MAKING A COMPLETE COMMITMENT TO THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM IN AN EFFORT TO BOOST BOTH THE FOOTBALL TEAM AND THE ENTIRE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT BY ADAM LUCAS // PHOTOS BY JEFFREY CAMARATI
34 B O R N & B R E D
FULLY INVESTED CAROLINA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BUBBA CUNNINGHAM SAT DOWN FOR AN EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH ADAM LUCAS ABOUT CAROLINA’S COMMITMENT TO FOOTBALL. ADAM LUCAS: WHY WAS THIS THE RIGHT TIME TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF MOVE? BUBBA CUNNINGHAM: With the changing landscape of college
sports, we felt it was time. With the advent of NIL four years ago and compensation for players combined with the creation of revenue sharing which starts in July of 2025, we are moving towards a professional model. Revenue sharing is pay for play. So creating a professional model with a professional general manager who can evaluate and value talent is important. That person has to be able to allocate resources based on what they believe is the value of that particular individual and what they bring to the field. Traditionally, we have provided a scholarship so there is an opportunity to get an education. We will continue to do that. There’s an additional $20.5 million of talent evaluation that will be moved to students. Who better to make those recommendations than someone who has been doing it for 30 years?
LUCAS: WHEN THE HIRING PROCESS BEGAN, WAS BILL BELICHICK ON YOUR RADAR? CUNNINGHAM: I received a call in mid-November, before we
made a decision about where we were going next, and was told he was interested. So when I compiled a list of 30 people who should be considered when the job opens, he was on the list. The question was whether it was a sincere interest and whether we had a sincere interest in him. As it unfolded, it came to fruition.
LUCAS: COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS A BIG BUSINESS. WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAROLINA TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT BIG BUSINESS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN UTILIZED BEFORE? CUNNINGHAM: Given Coach Belichick’s ultra success at the NFL
level and the visibility he brings to the program, the interest in Carolina football has never been higher. We see that every day. We are in a time when eyeballs watching your program are critically important to the revenue streams associated with the program. It’s very important that we get the most eyes on the program we can possibly get, because there will be revenue associated with it.
LUCAS: IN ORDER TO CREATE THAT REVENUE, THERE WILL BE MORE COSTS. HOW IS THE DEPARTMENT GOING TO HANDLE THOSE COSTS? CUNNINGHAM: We have invested heavily and we do have
additional expenses. We firmly believe the return on our investment will be greater than the investment itself. That will allow us to take the additional revenue and continue to support our other 26 teams that don’t generate revenue, so we can create opportunities for those students to continue to participate.
LUCAS: HOW DO YOU FIND THE MONEY FOR THOSE COSTS? CUNNINGHAM: The University has really stepped up and helped
us. There are a lot of ways to finance it. There is a six-month period from the time we hired the coaching staff to the time we play a game. We’ll get the return at the end of the next fiscal year. We have a little bit of a gap right now, but we think we will more than cover it as we move forward.
LUCAS: THE NEW FOOTBALL STAFF IS LARGELY ACCUSTOMED TO AN NFL BACKGROUND, WHERE THEY ARE ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEMSELVES. HOW DID YOU CONVEY THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOTBALL WHILE ALSO BEING PART OF AN OVERALL ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT? CUNNINGHAM: The amount of interest staff members have
in our Olympic programs—particularly lacrosse, which Coach Belichick has an affinity for because he and his family have a lot of background with—makes it clear that they appreciate the breadth of this institution. They have already taken advantage of that in the recruiting process. They are recruiting dual sport athletes and coming to the basketball games. Carolina is different than an NFL environment, but it’s also something Coach Belichick understands. He grew up watching his father coach at the Naval Academy and they have even more programs than we do. He has seen the breadth of the program and where a sport fits in an educational environment.
LUCAS: YOU’VE HIRED NUMEROUS SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE COACHES. WHAT FAMILIAR SIGNS DID YOU SEE THAT MADE YOU REALIZE COACH BELICHICK COULD BE A FIT AS A COLLEGE COACH? CUNNINGHAM:The most important thing in finding the right coach—which is why you hire someone like Bill Belichick—is that talent acquisition is number one. You can’t be a great team if you don’t have great players. You can’t have a great team if you don’t have a great coach. He is an incredible coach with a talented staff. The amount of time he will spend developing our players, recruiting players, evaluating players, and evaluating
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THE BELICHICK ISSUE our opponent and our own personnel will make us successful. That gives us a very high level of confidence that we can be very successful moving forward.
LUCAS: WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR FANS AND RAMS CLUB MEMBERS TO SUPPORT THIS ENDEAVOR? CUNNINGHAM: Buy tickets and do the things financially that
allow us to continue to do what we are doing. What great fans do is support the team. What we’re seeing is there is a lot of hope here, and people want to get behind it right now. We’ve had great success with our season ticket deposits and that has helped us understand the appetite for Carolina football. Our students are fired up and our fans are fired up.
LUCAS: THERE HAS BEEN SOME TALK ABOUT CAROLINA BEING A 33RD PROFESSIONAL FRANCHISE. WHAT IF CAROLINA FANS WANT COLLEGE FOOTBALL? CUNNINGHAM: We will be college football. These are University of
North Carolina students playing in Kenan Stadium and representing the University of North Carolina. But college athletics has changed. Beginning July 1, we can revenue share with those who participate. We’re going to do that. We’ve had scholarships for 100 years. Now we will have an opportunity to revenue share on top of that. We will have the same fundamental core values we have always had. We will create educational experiences for these students who are here to play a game and make sure they get the education that we promise. We will always continue to do that—now we’re just going to pay them along the way.
LUCAS: WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU GOTTEN FROM CURRENT CAROLINA HEAD COACHES ABOUT THE COMMITMENT TO FOOTBALL? CUNNINGHAM: The reality is there are a lot of questions.
Fundamentally, they all understand why we are doing this. They also believe that if football is even more successful and generates even more revenue, there will be even more opportunity for everybody. There is definitely an opportunity that when this is successful, they will get even more resources as a result of that success.
LEGACIES ARE BUILT HERE
Behind 850+ Carolina student-athletes are supporters who are establishing their legacy with Carolina Athletics through long-term philanthropic planning with The Rams Club. Planned gifts combine your philanthropic goals with smart financial strategies. To learn more about simple, meaningful and tax-wise giving opportunities, contact Beth MacKethan at 919-843-6448 or beth@ramsclub.com
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FIRST PERSON
A Carolina Crash Course
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The first time I met Bill Belichick was in the spring of 1991. The Cleveland Browns had just given him his first opportunity to be an NFL head coach. Belichick, along with pro personnel director Michael Lombardi, were scouting offensive linemen for the upcoming NFL draft. On a cool morning in Kenan Stadium, Belichick and Lombardi put me through a series of tests and drills for an hour. Although Cleveland did not select me in the 1991 NFL draft (the Houston Oilers did), Lombardi and Belichick reminded me of that day when I saw them again at Coach’s introductory press conference in Chapel Hill on Dec. 12, 2024. Over my 13 years in the NFL, I dreaded playing against Belichick-coached teams. They were always smart, tough, physical, and focused on doing the little things right. My final game in the NFL was with the Carolina Panthers when we played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The game was tied 29-29 with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Patriots had possession of the football on their own 40-yard line. In true Belichick fashion, New England’s offense executed the game winning drive by gaining 37 yards in five plays. They did the little things right when it mattered most. Coach Belichick won 302 games and six Super Bowls as an NFL head coach by focusing on the details with meticulous preparation. He built a great foundation with the New England Patriots and the city of Boston. And in spending time with him, it is clear he wants to build that same solid relationship with UNC. He is passionate about creating a new paradigm in college football with Carolina as the standard. Coach Belichick is invested in the Carolina community, and he cares about honoring our history and culture. In preparation for his first staff meetings, he asked me to give two presentations to the new staff on the history of the University of North Carolina and the history of Carolina Football. It allowed me to share all the little things that make Carolina such a special place. Coach Belichick and the staff learned that Carolina was the nation’s first public university and is consistently ranked as one of the best public universities, as well as one of the best college towns
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in America. Carolina is unique because of our beautiful campus, school colors, and nickname. I shared that the Old Well began as the sole source of water for the university and the town of Chapel Hill and that a sip from the Old Well before the start of classes, or football season, provides good luck. To close the presentation, I taught Coach and the staff the school song, “Hark the Sound,” and then we all sang it together. The Carolina Football presentation allowed me to share with Coach and the staff the rich history of UNC Football and the Tar Heel legends who dominated in Kenan Stadium. They learned about Rameses, the Victory Bell, and Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice. Also, Carolina is credited with throwing the first forward pass in 1895. Lastly, as with the History of UNC presentation, we finished with a song. Coach Belichick and the new staff sang the fight song, “I’m a Tar Heel Born,” ending with a resounding, “Go to hell Dook!” Anticipation is high at the beginning of the Belichick era in the football program. There is an energy and excitement in the players and around Kenan Football Center. Coach Belichick and his staff are working tirelessly to establish a football program that excels on the field and honors our unique culture that spans 230 years because it is always a Great Day to be a Tar Heel!
KEVIN DONNALLEY Director of the Koman Game Plan for Success Illustration by Jason McCorkle
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