Raiders reach out to Bill Belichick about job, but coach has no plans to leave UNC: Sources
Bill Belichick may be drawing NFL interest after all. Even if, at this point, the University of North Carolina head coach is not interested.
Tom Brady, who has a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, reached out to his former longtime coach about the team’s vacancy, team sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal details about the team’s coaching search.
But Belichick has no plans to leave North Carolina just one month after taking its head-coaching job, said a source close to him, also speaking on condition of anonymity. His sole focus is on coaching and recruiting for the Tar Heels as he continues building the program toward his first season, the source said. Belichick spent Wednesday recruiting in New Jersey.
Belichick, 72, shocked the sports world by accepting the UNC job last month, his first role in the college football ranks after 29 years and 333 wins as an NFL head coach. At the time, he called coaching in college football “a dream come true.”
Even if Belichick wanted to leave North Carolina to take the Raiders’ job — or one of the five other vacancies in the NFL — the buyout in his contract could provide a hurdle. The contract states that if Belichick terminates his contract “without cause” prior to June 1, 2025, he owes the university $10 million. Whether Belichick or an NFL team that hired him decided to handle the buyout, it would need to be paid to North Carolina within 180 days of his termination.
GO DEEPER
Breaking down Bill Belichick’s contract with UNC: Why it is unlike others in college
Such a move, of course, would be highly unusual but not unprecedented even for the legendary coach himself. In 2000, Belichick was hired as coach of the New York Jets but left after one day to join the Patriots, where he teamed up with Brady to win six Super Bowls.
Brady will have an active role in Las Vegas’ coaching search after the team fired former head coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday. And while Belichick and Brady had a rough breakup in 2020 when Brady left to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they still maintain a relationship.
GO DEEPER
Why has Bill Belichick’s hiring been met with such skepticism? Some reasons, real and imagined
The Raiders are an interesting spot given the ties between Brady and Belichick, but they’re also exploring other options. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has agreed to a first interview with the Raiders, and Las Vegas has requested interviews with defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Wednesday. Because the Lions and Chiefs are in the playoffs, those interviews will be conducted virtually. The Raiders wouldn’t be able to have in-person interviews with them until after the divisional round.
When it comes to Belichick, though, the Raiders could submit a request to North Carolina for an in-person interview at any time.
Required reading
• For UNC, hiring Bill Belichick was a risk it couldn’t afford not to take
• There’s no reason Belichick can’t have success at UNC. Just don’t expect him to last long
• Bill Belichick introduced at UNC, says he ‘always wanted to coach in college football’
(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
