UNC has always been a basketball-centric school until it decided to bring the NFL’s GOAT, Bill Belichick, and hand him a $10 million annual contract. It was a surprise, since UNC’s whole athletics budget under the previous head coach, Mack Brown, was just $4 million. The elite academic standards were toned down for Belichick, and football quickly became the top priority. Why pay those big bucks without committing resources? It didn’t sit well with Brown, though.

“I said coach Belichick is obviously one of the best coaches at any sport ever,” Mack Brown said on Jon Gruden’s podcast on March 26. “He’s won more championships than anybody. So, he’s what a dream for them to have that kind of coach. And they’re giving him money. They found $20 million more for NIL than they had for me, and that was good. And they’ve helped academically.”

Brown remains the winningest head coach in UNC history, having led them to 12 bowl appearances and three 10-win seasons, yet he didn’t manage to win a single ACC title. In a statement made last, the 74-year-old had echoed the same sentiments and said, “They’ve committed money to it, they’ve helped him with academics. They’ve lowered those standards some.” Except it wasn’t something he said to discredit Belichick’s brilliance, though criticism came anyway.

“A bunch of the North Carolina people got mad at me for saying that,” he said, referring to the criticism he received. “And I thought it was positive. I thought everything I said was positive. So, Jon, I just said, ‘Okay, I will not say anything else. I’ll just pull away for North Carolina. Whatever I say, somebody’s going to make something out of it.”

Brown had two stints with UNC. Of course, NIL wasn’t there in the first one from 1988 to 1997. But in his second tenure, from 2019 to 2024, the NIL decision came in 2021, and colleges quickly began chalking up donors, boosters, and revenue streams. While colleges like Ohio State pumped $20 million into their rosters and Miami pledged $14 million to NIL, Mack Brown was busy persuading UNC’s hierarchy, but to no avail.

“We signed 26 high school kids two years ago and didn’t pay a penny,” Brown said last year. “I told them you had to earn it when you got there. And that’s not going to work…it’s hard to build it now with high school players because coaches are making too much money and fans and administrations aren’t patient.”

But just when Brown thought he would be given a bigger budget to sign players, land recruits, and build his long-awaited winning roster, UNC decided to show him the door. He was 73 then, and an aging head coach wouldn’t have steered the team into the new landscape of the NIL and revenue-sharing era, which forces coaches to adapt each step. At least that’s what Brown had thought upon his firing. And he even refused to resign when AD Bubba Cunningham presented him with a choice.

On the other side, Belichick’s lack of options in the NFL after splitting with the Patriots led him to turn to college football. UNC didn’t risk the chance of having an 8-time Super Bowl winner and a proven NFL maestro on their team to finally lead them to an ACC title. As a result, Cunningham & Co. made him an offer that they knew would pay dividends. They even announced UNC’s increased investment in football to accommodate Belichick.

But UNC deciding to bring another ‘aging’ 74-year-old head coach with a double pay bump raised Brown’s favoritism concerns.

Some of Cunningham’s predictions did work out, with a surge in season ticket purchases and donor money pouring in during the initial days of his stint. However, it all came crashing down after UNC’s porous 2025 season. However, Belichick has not yet given up on the future as he tunes out all the noise for the 2026 season.

Bill Belichick declares being in ‘focus’ for 2026 season, despite distractions

Getting $10 million annually and $20 million to build a roster is one thing. But translating those big bucks to actual results is what matters now at UNC. Belichick faltered massively last year and managed to win just 4 games. Even less expected teams like NC State, TCU, and Wake Forest didn’t have a hard time defeating him. But this year, patience is running thin, and the UNC hierarchy wants a quick turnaround. Belichick is focused on just that, despite his NFL Hall of Fame snub making widespread news.

“No, I’m focused on coaching this team and focused on getting Carolina football to the highest level I can,” Belichick said on March 24, 2026, ahead of UNC’s first day of spring practice. “That’s what I’ve always … I focus on what I can do. Things that are out of my control, I don’t worry about.”

Maybe this year Belichick is finally on the right track. He has landed an impressive 17th-ranked recruiting class in 2026 and brought in 20 transfers to offset his portal and eligibility losses. Can players like Jordan Washington, Peyton Seelman, Billy Edwards Jr., or Taron Dickens lead Belichick to redemption? It’s hard to tell, really. But the head coach has his work cut out with one of the toughest schedules in college football.