The Greatest NFL Coach Ever Takes on College Football

Not surprised by BelichickCLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 7: Head coach Bill Belichick of the Cleveland Browns looks on from the sideline during a game against the Denver Broncos at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on November 7, 1993 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Broncos defeated the Browns 29-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Posted By: County Sports Network August 31, 2025

Belichick’s Bold Move: Trading Super Bowls for Saturdays

It was exactly 34 years ago that the Browns’ Bill Belichick made his NFL head-coaching debut.

The Browns lost 26-14 to the Dallas Cowboys of another relatively new head coach, a guy named Jimmy Johnson, on Sept. 1, 1991 at Cleveland Stadium.

Now, Belichick will make his college head-coaching debut Monday night as his North Carolina Tar Heels take on Texas Christian.

It is the most intriguing matchup, and storyline, not just of Week 1 of the college football season, but of the entire year on any level. Nothing comes even remotely close to it.

Indeed, can the greatest pro football coach of all-time, the one who, after leaving Cleveland following the 1995 season, guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships, have success of any kind on the college level?

No one knows the answer to that question. Moreover, no one has any idea. There is no precedence for this.

Yes, of course, NFL head coaches, even successful ones, have gone to college and done some good things. But they were not the greatest head coach ever, so there’s really no comparison.

Belichick spent almost a half-century as an NFL coach, including as an assistant with the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts before coming to Cleveland. During all that time, there was never any mention of him going to the college ranks. Some guys are college coaches, and some guys are pro coaches, and Belichick seemed clearly like a pro coach.

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But things change. College football, and the NFL, are a lot different now than they were when Belichick started way back in 1975 with head coach Ted Marchabroda’s Colts.

I can’t wait to see how it all plays out, so I will be watching every minute of what happens Monday night. And I am sure that many other people will be glued to their TVs as well.

Steve King

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