Bill Belichick: "I'm open to different opportunities"

As Bill Belichick talks to North Carolina about possibly becoming the next head coach at Chapel Hill, Belichick spoke some more about the situation on the Let’s Go! podcast, one of his umpteen 2024 media platforms.

Asked by Jim Gray about abandoning the pursuit of the all-time wins record held by Don Shula, Belichick said this: "I don't have any set goals. I'm open to different opportunities going forward and I'll just evaluate them as they come.”

He characterized the UNC talks as exploratory, with the possibility of becoming something more than that.

"I think it's a process of just understanding what the mutual goals, expectations, and resources are to find out whether it's a fit," Belichick said. "And, in the process . . . we'll just see how it goes.”

He didn't rule out returning to the NFL.

"I'm open to a number of thoughts," Belichick said. "Football at either the college or the professional level does interest me and I would explore those opportunities as well and ultimately see what everybody has to offer and what would be the best fit for me and potentially another organization."

That's another way of saying to interested NFL teams, "Come and get me." On Sunday night, we reported that Belichick is "very surprised" by the fact that he's heard from no NFL teams about 2025 — either those with vacancies (Bears, Saints, Jets) or those that might have them.

My initial reaction to the news of Belichick talking to North Carolina was that he was sending a poop-or-get-off-the-pooper message to potentially interested NFL teams, so that he wouldn't be left without a coaching job in 2025. His latest comments do nothing to change that opinion.

Regardless of how it plays out from here, every NFL owner knows he's in play for 2025. The more time passes without his phone ringing, the more interested he might be in a college job — with the Tar Heels or maybe elsewhere.