The Atlantic Coast Conference’s annual football media days are being held this week in Charlotte, and with that, then, begins in earnest the most compelling and interesting story — by far; it isn’t even close — in all of football, both in colleges and the NFL.

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That is, the unveiling of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick.

Can the 73-year-old Belichick, who began his head coaching career with the Browns from 1991-95 and just might be the greatest head coach in NFL history, translate those skills to college? Can he be a big winner — or a winner at all — with the Tar Heels even just remotely close to the way he was with the New England Patriots for a quarter-century in guiding them to six Super Bowl titles? He earned two more as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants 40 years ago immediately prior to coming to Cleveland, bringing the total championships to eight! That’s off the charts.

Related: The Belichick Era In Cleveland

But when Belichick parted ways with the Patriots following the 2023 season and tried to find an NFL head coaching job, he surprisingly couldn’t. He sat out 2024, doing various TV work, and then to the astonishment of everyone, he was hired by NC last Dec. 11.

Then there’s his high-profile relationship with a very socially active 24-year-old woman named Jordon Hudson.

Everybody has been watching Belichick for the past 7-1/2 months since his arrival in Chapel Hill. And they will be focused even more on him now that the start of the regular season is about only a month or so away.

Here’s one thing to keep in mind: Belichick is good friends with Nick Saban from when the latter served as the defensive coordinator in Cleveland from 1991-94. They talk all the time. Saban, who is arguably the greatest head coach in college football history, failed as an NFL head coach two decades ago with the Miami Dolphins. So, head-coaching wise, Saban could not do what Belichick is attempting, in backwards fashion, in going between college and the pros. They had to have discussed it. What advice did Saban possibly give Belichick to convince him he could do it?

Steve King

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