The top two stories for the upcoming football season, at any level of play, from the pee-wees to the pros, — and it’s not even remotely close —involve Bill Belichick and Shedeur Sanders.

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That’s the case even if you don’t follow the North Carolina Tar Heels, who are now coached by Belichick, the one-time Cleveland head coach from two decades ago, or the Browns, who took Sanders in the fifth round of the NFL Draft last Saturday. You can be just a football fan and/or a fan of good high-profile theater to fully appreciate it.

And there is much to appreciate, and to attract you.

The storylines for both of them are incredibly interesting, intriguing and thought-provoking, and many in number. In fact, there are more storylines than you can count.

For starters, there’s the wonderment of seeing if the 72-year-old Belichick, arguably the greatest pro football coach of all-time, can make it as a college coach, while at the same time continuing his relationship with a woman nearly 50 years younger.

Then there’s the question of seeing if Sanders, who was originally projected as an early first -round pick — some said to the Browns at No. 2 overall before the trade winds began a-blowing — but fell like a rock to the third day of the draft for reasons still not clearly defined, can play, and excel, for someone who is not his dad, and without that guy, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, interfering.

That there are some movers and shakers at North Carolina who may not have wanted Belichick as coach, and that Browns General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski may not have wanted to draft Sanders, even in the fifth round, but were overruled by owner Jimmy Haslam, serves only to stir up the winds of controversy, as if they needed to be stirred up even more than they already are.

And think about this: Before it’s all said and done — and quite possibly well before that — it might be that the words and actions of “Coach Prime” and Jordon Hudson, Belichick’s lady, are the real stories here.

North Carolina, a big brand which hasn’t been really, really good in football for a long time, wants to change the narrative, hence the decision to hire Bill Belichick. Can he do it?

The Browns, who have struggled mightily during the expansion era, including finishing 3-14 last fall in a season when they expected, and were expected by others, to challenge for a trip to the Super Bowl, want to get themselves straightened around once and for all, knowing full well that things won’t change without a franchise quarterback and his consistently competent play. Is Sanders that guy?

We’ll find out, in both regards.

In the meantime, enjoy it playing out before your very eyes, for it may be that what happens, you will have to see it to believe it.

For football fans, especially, and also others with just a passing interest in such things, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Steve King

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