After getting their third dub of the season, Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina Tar Heels will take on Andrew Luck‘s Stanford Cardinal this weekend at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The interesting part is that both were semi-rivals in the NFL before Andrew Luck traded pigskin for health issues. More than half a decade later, they are about to go down in the nostalgia run, but with mediocre rosters. Ahead of the match-up, Bill Belichick gives his thoughts about Andrew Luck as GM.

On November 5th, Bill Belichick hopped onto a podium ahead of their weekend match. The interviewer asked his take on Andrew becoming a GM? And did he ever expect to see him in the front-office job? Bill Belichick half-smirked, and started with praises: “You know, he’s a smart guy. Obviously, he’s got a great, you know, history at the school, but just as a competitor, he’s, you know, was, was a very smart quarterback.” According to Bill, Even though Luck wasn’t necessarily thinking about a front office job when he was playing, his intelligence and understanding of the game make him capable of running any office.

Bill Belichick and Andrew Luck go way back to 2010s. Luck faced Belichick’s Patriots six times, including four regular-season games and two AFC Divisional playoff games from 2012 to 2018. Even though Bill Belichick’s got the best of him all six times, Colts nation still had faith that he could take them to glory land by beating the Pats in the AFC championship.

Unfortunately, that day never came. Andrew Luck had to retire from the NFL at the very young age of 29. The people’s MVP had been dealing with multiple injuries throughout his career. And the constant cycle of playing, rehabbing, and returning took a toll on him. Luck said that the physical pain and the mental stress of injuries made it hard for him to enjoy football the way he wanted. So, he had to step away from the game to focus on his life outside of football. After going MIA for almost 6 years, Andrew Luck resurfaced back at Stanford GM’s job.

Bill Belichick acknowledged Luck’s love for the game and compared him to Peyton Manning, saying Luck was on a similar level in terms of preparation and skill. Despite Luck’s short NFL career, Belichick believes his intelligence and decision-making skills make him capable of handling important roles off the field.

Bill Belichick has always admired Andrew Luck in their careers

Even Patriots fans believed in the idea that if Tom Brady had retired, Andrew was the guy for the Pats. Bill Belichick has always spoken highly of Andrew Luck. “He’s got a lot of strengths, no weaknesses,” said back in 2025. Belichick also described Luck as “like a sixth receiver you have to cover” because he could move around and make plays in many ways.

Andrew Luck was a Patriots coded-player, which Bill Belichick always admired about him. When Luck shocked the football world by retiring, Belichick was dumbfounded: “He’s a good player. I didn’t see that, but I don’t really follow them,” which some people misunderstood. He later clarified that he meant he “didn’t see it coming,” and wasn’t saying he didn’t know who Luck was.

Belichick respected Luck’s personal decision of retiring, saying, “We all have to make our decisions. He made his and I respect it.” Now, almost 6 years later, Andrew Luck got the chance to get his lick back for beating him six teams in a row.