ACC Football

Bill Belichick was not only the head coach of the New England Patriots for two decades, he also served as the de facto general manager for the team during much of that time. And while his personnel decisions later in his tenure left plenty to be desired, he still will bring plenty of evaluation experience to North Carolina alongside his coaching acumen.

"They will be better evaluators than 90 percent of these major colleges will be," a veteran NFL executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic.

"They already understand the cap, they understand how to pay and who to pay and how to structure a roster," the executive added. "Colleges right now are scrambling to learn that and define that. These college coaches have really been their own GMs, and they have hired young guys to recruit. Belichick is going to be ahead."

Granted, recruiting and even the transfer portal is a different beast. It will be an adjustment.

"Bill used to put up an empty depth chart on the first day of camp, telling the guys they had to earn everything," a coach told Sando. "How he's going to have transfers telling him they want X number of plays per game, or this many targets? What's he going to do when some kid in the portal tells him what jersey number he wants?"

This is where the central intrigue lies for Belichick's North Carolina tenure—how will he adjust to the quirks of the college game? Or will he adjust at all?

If the answer to that second question is no, his time in Chapel Hill may be short-lived.

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell is handing $4.5 million back to the school as part of a one-year contract restructure, the school announced on Monday.

Norvell released a statement on the decision:

I presented this to our administration in an effort to boost the support of our student-athletes while recognizing that the results and expectations need to be upheld to the highest level. I wanted to be proactive in my financial assistance through this time of transition as we all push forward to get back to the standard of Florida State football. Great days are ahead, and I'm grateful to coach these players and lead this staff. We have been hard at work to uphold the tradition here at Florida State, and I believe this step will help accelerate the process to where I know we are going.

Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger first reported the details:

The contribution is part of the school's new Vision of Excellence campaign intended to raise money as schools gear up to share revenue directly with athletes under the new House settlement agreement. The settlement permits each school in Division I to share at least $20.5 million with their athletes starting on July 1.

That's nearly half of Norvell's yearly salary. At $10 million, he's the sixth-highest-paid coach in the FBS among the schools with publicly available data, per USA Today.

Even more so than with the advent of the transfer portal and NIL, revenue sharing in college sports will be a paradigm-shifting development. For those at the top of the pyramid, raising the funds and finding the optimal way to distribute cash is imperative toward maintaining a competitive edge.

Having head coaches devote a portion of their salary for revenue sharing could become a regular feature. Beyond being a quick way to boost the spending pool, it can make a coach look like a more player-first leader if the cash is being funneled directly back into the roster.

In Norvell's case, it's probably not a coincidence that this also is coming after a bitterly disappointing 2024 season.

Florida State went from 13-0 in the 2023 regular season to finishing 2-10. A year on from being the toast of Tallahassee, Norvell could be plausibly coaching for his job in 2025. Hiring Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator was a sign of the general urgency around the team.

The decline had an impact on the Seminoles' recruiting as well. They sit 20th in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2025, which isn't too bad all things considered, but they had nine 4-star prospects decommit during this cycle.

Monday's news is some good PR when Florida State needs it and makes for a great sales pitch for Norvell.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick's longtime quarterback with the New England Patriots, was just as shocked as the rest of the football world when Belichick took the University of North Carolina head coaching position this week.

"Kind of blew me away when I heard the news," Brady said during Sunday's broadcast of the Philadelphia Eagles' win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite his surprise, Brady had nothing but praise for the veteran coach as he ventures into new territory.

"I didn't think that was an opportunity he was looking at but they're getting an obviously tremendous coach," Brady said during his Fox broadcast on Sunday. "Being in that locker room with him for as many years (as I was), those guys are going to play very hard (and) he's going to coach them well. It's a great benefit for all those players going to that program, because ether getting the best coach that the NFL has ever seen, now he's at a college level."

Brady joked that the recruiting calls might be a struggle for Belcichik as he is not the "warmest and fuzziest of all times."

Along with Brady former teammate and player of Belichick Tedy Bruschi, a former linebacker expressed his opinion on Belichick's new path.

"What are we doing here? I mean, with Bill Belichick going to coach North Carolina. I mean, college football — there's only one bowl game I want to see Bill Belichick coaching and that's the Super Bowl, OK?" Bruschi said, per Fox Sports' Ryan Gaydos. "I don't want to see him coaching some Lawnmower Bowl in December or January. That's just not who I am."

Belichick landed the job last week after reportedly inquiring about a head coach opening with the New York Jets. But the time crunch between the Jets giving an answer and the Tarheels needing a decision ultimately led to the demise of his stay in the NFL and his arrival in college football.

At 72 years old, Belichick has never coached at the college level. He began his NFL career in 1975 with the Baltimore Colts, which eventually led to his 24-year tenure as head coach of the Patriots until 2023.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach will certainly draw attention to the Tar Heels next season.

Bill Belichick's decision to take the head coaching gig for the North Carolina Tar Heels was somewhat surprising, given he had spent his entire coaching career in the NFL.

But as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported during Sunday's SportsCenter, Belichick took the certainty of a job he was offered over the unknown of the NFL coaching market:

Ultimately in the end, he took the bird in hand. He didn't trust the NFL—that bypassed him last year in favor of some of the coaches hired—to do the right thing and hire him this year. And again, we talked about this other day. You talk about some of these franchises not being well-run, incompetent, relevant, whatever you want to call them. Look what Belichick did for North Carolina. North Carolina Football got more attention this past week than it did in the last 30 years combined because of Belichick. So, if there's an NFL team, any NFL team, that hires Belichick, not only do you get the credibility, but you get the relevancy and everything that comes along with hiring a guy like Belichick.

One of the other surprising factors for Belichick's jump to the college game was that he's just 15 wins away from surpassing Don Shula's record of 347 NFL wins. That would have been quite the achievement to add to his six Super Bowl titles as a head coach.

Not that an eventual return to the NFL would be a surprise, especially given that his contract buyout becomes just $1 million on June 1 (until then, it stands at $10 million). If Belichick doesn't enjoy his first season in Chapel Hill, it won't be hard for him to move on.

Granted, the NFL didn't exactly roll out the red carpet for him in last year's coaching market after he parted ways with the New England Patriots. The only team who formally interviewed him was the Atlanta Falcons, twice, with Schefter noting that "Atlanta bypassed him when there were people around the league who thought that that deal was getting done, and it was tracking to get done until it didn't. And then Washington did have some contact, but was so far down the road with Dan Quinn that it wasn't gonna waver from its stance."

And Belichick also noted in his introductory press conference with North Carolina that he "didn't come here to leave. I feel like doing this a long time. I'm good to go."

"I always wanted to coach in college football, it just never really worked out. I had some good years in the NFL, so that was OK," he added. "But this is really a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad and as a kid all I knew was college football. It's great to come back home to Carolina and back into an environment I grew up in."

Time will tell if the North Carolina job sticks. If the NFL comes inquiring in the future, however, it's hard to see Belichick ignoring those overtures completely.

Bill Belichick still needs to fill out his first staff as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, and he reportedly has his eye on the NFL level.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Scott Turner "has emerged as a top target" to fill the same role with the ACC program under the legendary head coach.

Turner was promoted to the interim offensive coordinator position with the Raiders after they fired Luke Getsy following a 2-7 start to the season.

Things haven't exactly gone well, as Las Vegas is 0-4 since the move and did not reach the 20-point mark in any of those games. It is just 2-11 overall and in last place in the AFC West.

Given the team's position, it is anything but a certainty the front office will bring back head coach Antonio Pierce and his staff for the 2025 campaign. With that in mind, Turner, who is the son of former NFL head coach Norv Turner, may need a landing spot.

Perhaps that landing spot will be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, alongside arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.

Unlike Belichick, Turner has some experience in the college game. He was an offensive assistant and then wide receivers coach for three seasons with Pittsburgh from 2008 through 2010 and was also on Jim Harbaugh's Michigan staff as an offensive analyst in 2017.

He also got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with Oregon State in 2005.

Yet he is more experienced at the NFL level with stops with the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders and Raiders. He was most notably the offensive coordinator for Washington for three seasons from 2020-22 before he joined the Raiders as a passing game coordinator in 2023.

The Commanders made the playoffs once during his tenure as the OC and lost in the Wild Card Round to end their 2020 campaign.

North Carolina will be firmly under the spotlight during Belichick's first season as the head coach, and he would at least know Turner is an experienced play-caller who has held jobs at the collegiate and NFL levels.

Bryce Baker will stick with North Carolina after the Tar Heels fired head coach Mack Brown and replaced him with legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick.

Baker, a 4-star quarterback out of the Class of 2025 who committed to North Carolina in 2023, reaffirmed his commitment and will sign with the Tar Heels, per ESPN's Eli Lederman.

Baker expressed confidence in Belichick and his staff's vision for the program.

"Their experience in the NFL is huge," Baker said. "They've been on the level that I'm trying to get to. I feel like that separates them from a lot of other schools. They want to develop me, and they know the intricacies that will help me get to my goals. I feel like [Belichick] will bring in the right pieces to build around me. They're going to make me a priority."

After Baker's decision, he and Belichick were introduced and posed together at a North Carolina basketball game:

Baker is considered to be the No. 80 player in the Class of 2025, the No. 8 quarterback and the No. 3 player in North Carolina by 247Sports Composite. He held offers from Penn State, LSU, Florida and others.

According to Lederman, Baker visited Penn State on Nov. 30 and was between North Carolina and the Nittany Lions following Mack's firing. He ultimately decided to stick with the Tar Heels after a phone call with Belichick on Thursday.

Baker will hold a signing ceremony on Dec. 18 before enrolling at North Carolina in January, per 247Sports' Don Callahan.

North Carolina has just nine commits from the Class of 2025. Belichick's first task as head coach will be working to get late commits and players out of the transfer portal to attempt to field a competitive team next fall.

Landing Baker is a good start after he threw for 3,099 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and four interceptions in his senior season with East Forsyth in Kernersville, North Carolina. Baker's pledge to Belichick could also lead to a plethora of other recruits trusting the six-time Super Bowl winner to take them to the next level.

Austin Alexander, a 4-star defensive end out of Kentucky, committed to Brown's Tar Heels in April but has not signed with North Carolina yet. He told ESPN that he's not rushing the process but has "excitement" about the prospect of playing for Belichick.

"Initial feelings are very mixed thoughts," Alexander said. "There's excitement and wonder. I'm just interested to see what's going to happen. I do not have a timeline. I am just taking it day by day."

North Carolina has not won 10 or more games since 2015 and finished a mediocre 44-32 under Brown. While Belichick is unproven at the collegiate level, his track record of success as a head coach gave Baker enough confidence to stick with the Tar Heels and they're hoping he can be the coach to take them to a championship-contending level.

On the day that he could win the Heisman Trophy, Cam Ward is still unhappy with the College Football Playoff selection committee for leaving Miami out of the 12-team field.

Appearing on the Saturday morning episode of SportsCenter, Ward called out the committee for leaving out the "best" quarterback and offense in the country.

"I'm really over it at this point, can't go back in the past and really control anything," Ward said. "I mean, at the end of the day, they left out the best quarterback in the country, they left out the best offense in the country. So, they're going to do what they got to do."

The Hurricanes wound up being one of the last two teams left out of the field, along with Alabama. They were No. 13 in the final rankings released on Sunday, two spots behind the Crimson Tide.

SMU at No. 10 was the lowest-ranked non-conference champion to make the playoff. The Mustangs were the most controversial choice inclusion after their 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

(Despite being 10th in the final rankings, SMU is the No. 11 seed in the playoff because the four highest-ranked conference champions receive an automatic bye. Even though Arizona State is ranked No. 12, it will be the No. 4 seed as the fourth-best conference champion after winning the Big 12.)

The Hurricanes missed their chance to play for a national title by losing two of their final three games after starting the season 9-0. Their 42-38 loss to Syracuse on Nov. 30 knocked them out of the ACC title game where they would have had the opportunity to play SMU.

Based on team resumes, Miami finished ahead of SMU in strength of record and strength of schedule.

Ward's frustration at not being able to play for a national title is understandable, but the biggest reason he won't have that chance is because Miami's defense simply wasn't good enough when it needed to be.

Defense was an issue for the Hurricanes throughout the season. Their 23.9 points allowed per game ranked 60th in FBS. They allowed 271 rushing yards in a 28-24 loss to Georgia Tech. Kyle McCord went 26-of-36 for 380 yards and three touchdowns for Syracuse in its win over Miami.

If the defense had made a key defensive stop in either of those games, Ward and the Hurricanes might be preparing to play for the playoffs. He can still end his year with a win as one of the four finalists for the Heisman Trophy that will be awarded on Saturday.

Ward finished first in FBS in passing touchdowns (36) and second in passing yards (4,123). He is the first Miami player to be a finalist for the Heisman since Ken Dorsey in 2002.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban was happy for Bill Belichick after he agreed to become North Carolina's next head coach, but he doesn't believe that the transition from the NFL to the college level will be easy.

"I'm happy for Bill," Saban said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "I think he probably wanted a new challenge and this is certainly going to be a great challenge for him. North Carolina is a great academic institution, as well as it's got plenty of athletic tradition there in basketball, football. Bill's a great coach."

"But I think the biggest thing that will be a challenge for him is the time that you have to spend recruiting, making phone calls, talking to parents and all those types of things to get the kind of players that you need," he added.

Belichick signed a five-year contract worth $50 million to join the Tar Heels on Wednesday night, taking over after former head coach Mack Brown was fired.

Personnel decisions shouldn't be too hard for the veteran coach, as Belichick served as the de facto general manager for the New England Patriots from 2000 through 2023 and oversaw six Super Bowl victories.

He'll also be joined by Michael Lombardi, who previously served as an executive with the Patriots and has NFL general manger experience. Lombardi will own the same title on the Tar Heels.

If there's anyone who knows what it takes to lead a successful college football program, it's Saban. The seven-time national champion built the Crimson Tide into one of the country's most dominant teams throughout his tenure that included six national titles.

He's also familiar with the transition between the NFL and college, as he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins prior to taking over at Alabama.

Saban expressed his belief that Belichick is an exceptional coach, but he also knows that his work is cut out for him as he begins his new role at North Carolina.

Former Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos has officially signed with Florida State, the school announced on Friday.

Castellanos told On3's Hayes Fawcett about the transfer on Wednesday and had already celebrated the news on social media.

Head coach Mike Norvell celebrated Castellanos' transfer by calling him "one of the most dynamic players in college football."

After beginning his college career at UCF, Castellanos started for two seasons at BC. He left the Eagles in November after losing the QB1 spot to backup Grayson James.

Following struggles with pass accuracy early in the 2024 season, Castellanos' last outing for the Eagles came during a Nov. 9 win over Syracuse.

After going 2-for-7 for 14 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Castellanos was benched by BC head coach Bill O'Brien.

O'Brien then named James the starter ahead of the following weekend's contest against SMU, telling reporters at the time that Castellanos was "taking a couple days" away from the team. Castellanos announced his intent to transfer two days later.

He will reunite at Florida State with Gus Malzahn, who departed from his role as UCF's head coach in November to serve as offensive coordinator for Norvell. Malzahn previously led Castellanos during his freshman season with the Knights.

Castellanos is now set to once again return to a QB1 role with the Seminoles, who are looking for an answer under center after quarterback struggles contributed to the team's 2-10 finish to the 2024 season.

DJ Uiagalelei, who transferred from Oregon State as a prospective starter for the Seminoles this season, was benched after five games in favor of redshirt freshman Brock Glenn and freshman Luke Kromenhoek.

Castellanos, who had established himself as a dual-threat quarterback following his 1,113 rushing-yard sophomore campaign for Boston College, will hope he turns out to be a better match for an offense Malzahn has said he hopes will "run the football downhill" more in 2025.

North Carolina officially unveiled Bill Belichick as its new head football coach on Thursday, bringing the NFL lifer to the college level for the first time in his coaching career.

The Tar Heels made it very worth his while from a financial standpoint, with reports indicating that Belichick was signed to a five-year deal with plenty of bonuses and incentives, though he'll also have a relatively affordable buyout clause after just one season:

The buyout clause led to some raised eyebrows around the sporting world, leaving open the possibility of Belichick departing for the NFL relatively early in his UNC tenure, though the longtime head coach offered little indication he was leaving himself an exit strategy.

"I didn't come here to leave," he told reporters during his introductory press conference.

He spoke on a number of topics Thursday, including recruiting, making the move to college and why he wanted to continue coaching at the age of 72:

Belichick told reporters he will run North Carolina like a "pro program" in terms of "training, developing players, running pro systems, pro techniques."

"So when the players leave here, this isn't going from the wishbone to a pro offense," he continued. "It will be similar terminology, similar techniques and fundamentals, similar training, similar preparation techniques that have been very successful for me through the years, whether other college teams use them or not. I mean, some are, some aren't, but I just know that these will prepare the players for that. So the general manager, head coach model, it's a similar type of situation for evaluating high school kids and college transfer portal players. NFL teams are evaluating college players and NFL free agent players. So again, there are some similarities."

It will be fascinating, of course, to see just how involved Belichick will be as a recruiter, how much money a basketball school will be able to raise in NIL deals for the football program, or whether his no-nonsense, machine-like approach to winning at all costs will resonate with younger players.

NFL players are elite professionals who can focus solely on their craft, without worrying about going to class. The college game is a different world, and how Belichick navigates it will be one of the more intriguing stories to follow in the sport in the coming years.