Report: Issues remain in Bill Belichick, North Carolina talks

Bill Belichick's flirtation with college football remains just that. For now.

According to Pete Thamel and Chris Low of ESPN.com, issues remain in the negotiations between Belichick and the University of North Carolina. A resolution, per the report, is expected in the near future.

The sticking points include, via ESPN.com, Belichick's salary, resources for the staff, reporting structure, the potential role for Stephen Belichick, Bill's son, and North Carolina's NIL resources.

There have been reports that Belichick hopes to create a succession plan that would involve Stephen taking over for Bill, at some point. Since he'll be 73 in April, it's unclear how long Bill Belichick would keep the job.

Given the various open issues, here's a fair question. How much leverage does Belichick have? It's been a week since he was linked to the job. There have been no reports of any other NFL teams or college programs trying to intervene. There hasn't even been something as simple as "teams that currently have coaches but that would want Belichick if a change is made" from a Belichick-friendly reporter.

So why should UNC give him everything he wants? At the end of the day, it might be only UNC that gives him what he needs — a chance to not just coach a team but to run the show.

Even with nearly a full season of calculated efforts through his various media platforms to goose the demand for his services, there's no land rush to hire Belichick. Ultimately, that should give the Tar Heels the ability to dig in the back ends of their feet.