When UNC hired Bill Belichick to run the football program, the goal was to win football games and possibly drum up national interest in the program.
So far, the plan is working. For better or worse, Belichick has been in the news cycle as much as any college football coach this offseason. And that excitement has translated to the box office, where football tickets are sold out despite a 25% price increase from last season.
The blueprint for this is Colorado. They decided to take the chance on hiring Deion Sanders in 2023 and almost overnight 'Coach Prime' changed the trajectory of the program. The Buffaloes were must-see TV. It helped that they had a future Heisman Trophy winner on the roster, but Deion understood that he was a polarizing figure in sports. Some watched Colorado hoping for his success; others reveled when the Buffaloes failed. But they were all watching.
Colorado's upset of TCU pulled 7.26M viewers on FOX — the most-watched Week 1 Big Noon Saturday game ever.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 7, 2023
It was the most-watched game of the day on any network. pic.twitter.com/n8xgPKyQXh
Belichick is a different kind of polarizing figure. He hasn't been good for television. He has an adversarial relationship with the media at times and surely all the scrutiny around his relationship with Jordon Hudson isn't going to help that.
But the mystery surrounding Belichick intrigues us. With Deion, it was a question of whether he was going to fall on his face or not. Belichick is already one of the most successful football coaches to ever live. Nothing he does in college football will take away from his coaching legacy, which includes six Super Bowl titles (eight if you count his years as a Giant assistant).
It's a little odd to describe a 73-year-old man as 'new and fresh', but for college football fans that often get sick or the norm, Belichick provides something new. We just don't know what's going to happen when this longtime NFL coach, used to dealing with professional athletes that have come to terms with their career just being a number, is interacting daily with players from 18-22 years old that have a whole different set of emotions.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: UNC HC Bill Belichick Mic'd Up at spring practice.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 9, 2025
This is unreal 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/CQdoMRkpkS
Hulu is banking on something happening. That's why they committed to a docuseries on UNC football this season. And ESPN also decided they were going to ride shotgun on the Belichick-UNC express wherever it takes them.
They are also banking on you watching it unfold. And you will be.