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The University of North Carolina released details regarding head football coach Bill Belichick's contract Thursday.

ESPN's Pete Thamel posted snippets of the contract on X, showing that Belichick signed a five-year deal which will pay him $10 million annually:

UNC sent out a copy of Bill Belichick's contract. Here's the way they get to his $10 million salary. I've been told the deal is signed, which is why UNC has released the deal via state open record laws. pic.twitter.com/iC29AFFnVp

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 23, 2025

Thamel also posted the termination clause, which requires Belichick to pay UNC $10 million if he terminates their agreement before June 1, 2025, but only $1 million if the termination occurs on June 1 or later:

Here's the clause where the buyout drops from $10 million to $1 million on June 1 if Belichick terminates the deal. pic.twitter.com/RcQCJZuhSj

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 23, 2025

There are also several bonuses worked into Belichick's deal, including payments for an ACC title game appearance and win, bowl game appearances, College Football Playoff appearances and finishes inside the Associated Press Top 25 Poll:

Couple interesting bonus items in Belichick's deal.
*ACC title game appearance $200,000
*ACC title game win $300,000
*$150,000 for Non-CFP bowl
*$350,000 for Non-CFP Tier 1/Elite bowl game shall be defined as the Pop-Tarts Bowl, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, and the Duke Mayo Bowl.
*See… https://t.co/ZjsLuBDAvg pic.twitter.com/PT6vLMOC8r

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 23, 2025

Should UNC win a national championship under Belichick's guidance, he will earn an extra $1.75 million.

Belichick, 72, is arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history. He led the New England Patriots to a record six Super Bowl wins during his time with the organization from 2000 to 2023.

When taking into account his five seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Browns as well, Belichick owns a career NFL regular-season coaching record of 302-165. He also went 31-13 in the playoffs.

After the Pats went 4-13 and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year in 2023, Belichick and the Patriots parted ways. Belichick tried to land another NFL head coaching job immediately after, but he wasn't hired.

While it was expected that he would re-enter the pool of head coaching candidates at the end of the 2024 campaign, he instead decided to join the college ranks, agreeing to become the Tar Heels' next head coach last month.

Belichick began his coaching career in 1975 with the Baltimore Colts, but he has never coached at the collegiate level until now.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported last week that Belichick technically hadn't signed his UNC contract yet, leading to speculation that Belichick could leave and land an NFL job if the opportunity were to arise.

North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi later shot down the idea, saying Belichick's "focus is on North Carolina football, hiring staff members and developing the team," and that the NFL "isn't an option."

There are still four head coaching vacancies in the NFL, although all of them figure to be filled in the coming weeks.

The language of Belichick's contract and the timing of the NFL hiring cycle makes it seem likely that he will coach at UNC for at least the 2025 season. But given that his buyout is only $1 million after June 1, he could potentially leave after one season if an NFL head coaching opportunity arises at the end of the 2025 season.

Until then, Belichick will attempt to get the Tar Heels back on track after a disappointing 6-7 showing in 2024.

Colorado has reportedly "stepped up pretty significantly" for head coach Deion Sanders amid reports that he and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have talked Dallas' open head coaching position.

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported the latest on the Rich Eisen Show.

"I heard Colorado has stepped up pretty significantly...for him," Feldman said when Eisen asked if Sanders was "going anywhere or staying put."

"I know Rick George, the AD, has a lot of value for Deion and what he's meant to the program. Not only what he's meant to the program, what it's meant to the school, meant to the state. All of it..."

Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz first reported the Jones-Sanders talks.

Sources: #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken with Colorado HC Deion Sanders about the team’s head coaching vacancy, and discussions are expected to continue regarding the possibility of him becoming the next head coach in Dallas.

Coach Prime is considered a top candidate,… pic.twitter.com/A0ltEMy0bg

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 14, 2025

However, the latest news from Jon Machota of The Athletic suggests that Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is "the front-runner right now" for the job.

The team also just brought in Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer for a second interview, per NFL Network.

The #Cowboys are planning to have a second interview with their own OC Brian Schottenheimer today, per me, @TomPelissero and @SlaterNFL.

After spending nearly four hours with Schottenheimer yesterday, Dallas brass sits down with him again. pic.twitter.com/fXLod0taVI

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 22, 2025

DallasCowboys.com staff writer Patrik Walker provided more insight.

fyi: as of the moment in which i am writing this, i’m not hearing of any interviews being set/requested for additional HC candidates by the #Cowboys.

could change, or they’re prepping to decide from those they’ve interviewed.

if the latter, the frontrunners are clear.

we wait.

— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) January 22, 2025

Putting it altogether, one can surmise that Moore and Schottenheimer (perhaps in that order) are one-two in the race, with everyone else far behind.

Even though Dallas may not end up being Sanders' landing spot in 2025, his success has led to rumors and speculation that he could leave Colorado for other opportunities.

Of note, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on Jan. 11 that Sanders "has a very strong interest" in the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job.

However, it appears that Sanders could very well be staying in Boulder at this point. That's a huge win for Colorado, which was 1-11 in 2022 (the year before Sanders' arrival) before improving to 9-4 (and the No. 25 spot in the final Association Press poll) this season.

Sanders signed a five-year, $29.5 million contract with the school before the 2022 season. But given his success, the Feldman report and the threat of a leave to the NFL, one can assume that Sanders could be getting a much-deserved raise and a reworked deal.

There is a small fraternity of people who understand what it is like to face the pressure-cooker that is being the head coach of Ohio State football.

Urban Meyer is one of them, and he called out some of the "idiots on social media" who attacked Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day before the latter led the Scarlet and Gray to College Football Playoff national championship.

"I coached a long time and a lot has been made of it and Coach Day and the pressures of coaching at a place like Ohio State," Meyer said during an episode of The Triple Option (h/t Dan Morrison of On 3). "I made the comment that that's not gonna change. The thing that has got to change and has changed is the idiots on social media that don't sign their name to stuff."

While nobody questioned Day's overall record, much of the football-related criticism from both frustrated fans and outside commentators came from his inability to accomplish any of the program's goals prior to the championship run.

After all, Ohio State hasn't defeated hated rival Michigan since Day's first season as head coach in 2019. It also hasn't won the Big Ten since the 2020 campaign. And, until this year, it fell just short of winning a national championship during CFP appearances during the 2019, 2020 and 2022 seasons.

This year's loss to Michigan seemed like a breaking point. The Buckeyes were heavy favorites against a team that struggled to move the ball on offense all season and still found a way to lose 13-10 with an overly conservative gameplan.

It wasn't just Buckeyes fans calling out Day at that point despite some of the revisionist history suggesting as much that has taken place since the national championship. There were national columns from some of the sport's most prominent voices saying it was time for Ohio State to move on, and it was not difficult to see why.

Yet Meyer specifically highlighted the criticism that took things too far and went beyond football, especially since, as Morrison noted, Day had to hire security at his home and deal with his family hearing about the program's perceived failures.

"When you start involving families, you're pushing it too far," Meyer said. "Booing because you don't get first downs and you lose to the rival, that's part of the game. That's all fair. But you've got to keep the families out of it."

Fortunately for Day and the Buckeyes, much of that criticism will now relinquish. They just made an incredible run through the first 12-team CFP and defeated top opponents in Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame.

Every win featured a double-digit margin, and Day and many of the players cemented their status in Ohio State history as a result.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard chuckled at the viral moment when a woman crashed the golf cart he was riding in after the Buckeyes' 34-23 victory over Notre Dame.

Howard told TMZ Sports he was "dying laughing" in the moment.

"I thought it was so funny," he said. "But the poor girl, I feel terrible for her. Hopefully, she's bouncing back."

Howard, head coach Ryan Day and others were being transported through the tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the driver failed to make a tight enough turn and collided with the wall. The cart was apparently rendered immobile as everybody got out and started walking toward the locker room.

Some lady just crashed the golf cart carrying Ryan Day and Will Howard in the Mercedes-Benz tunnel after they won the National Championship pic.twitter.com/o3UqM5ZhrO

— Patrick Greenfield (@PCGreenfield) January 21, 2025

As his interview with TMZ Sports shows, Howard made it through the ordeal and got back to Columbus, Ohio, safe and in one piece.

The mishap certainly wasn't going to dampen the Buckeyes' excitement after they claimed the ninth national title in program history.

Howard threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Quinshon Judkins had 100 yards and two scores on 11 carries. The OSU defense held the Fighting Irish to just 308 yards of total offense.

In the future, Ohio State personnel might want to steer clear of golf carts altogether after championship games. Memorable images seem to follow.

BYU commit AJ Dybantsa remains on top of the tightly contested class of 2025 college basketball recruit rankings, at least for now.

Dybantsa is listed first ahead of Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer in the latest high school recruit rankings shared by 247Sports.

AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer battle for No. 1 spot in updated 2025 rankings. 🏀

MORE: https://t.co/4YIOXRPhaq pic.twitter.com/m7sB3yMAfz

— 247Sports (@247Sports) January 22, 2025

247Sports' Adam Finkelstein that Dybantsa has held onto the No. 1 spot "by a decreasing margin" due to a push from Peterson and Boozer for the top spot.

Boozer committed to Duke in October, followed by Peterson's commitment to Kansas in November and Dybantsa's commitment to BYU in December.

Finkelstein provided some insight into why Dybantsa, who he described as "the most naturally talented prospect in the class," is having his No. 1 ranking called into question:

The dangers of being so celebrated at such an early stage are simultaneously becoming more of a threat. Dybantsa's Utah Prep games can oftentimes seem more like a show, where he's visibly playing to the cameras and otherwise theatrical, instead of just dominating like he should be capable of.

The hype around Dybantsa's future draft status has drawn significant crowds to his high school games, most recently Sunday's Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, against Cooper Flagg's alma mater of Montverde Academy.

The event drew a standing-room-only crowd, and Dybantsa put up 25 points, per Sports Illustrated's Tarek Fattal. But his team trailed by 27 points at halftime and eventually conceded a lopsided loss.

The Athletic's Jared Weiss wrote about Dybantsa's showing in the event:

The problem, which was on full display in Springfield, is that he is not consistently playing the playmaking-oriented brand of basketball that catapulted him to the top of his class. Dybantsa recently told The Athletic that the last thing he wants to be known as is a ball hog, but that is an apt description of the way he played in the first half of Utah Prep's matchup against Montverde Academy.

It looks like Dybantsa's raw skill will still be enough to keep him at the top of the rankings amid his ongoing development, barring a surprise surge from Boozer or Peterson.

Boozer was ranked at No. 2 on 247Sports' previous recruit rankings but was leapfrogged by Peterson in the latest edition.

Although Boozer, 17, has a prolific resume that includes the 2023 Gatorade National Player of the Year title as well as gold medals at the FIBA U17 World Cup and FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship, Peterson impressed 247Sports scouts by coming out on top in head-to-head matchups with Boozer and Dybantsa, according to Finkelstein.

The rankings are likely set to shift again by the end of the high school basketball season as these three top prospects gear up to make their college debuts next fall.

Reggie Bush is the newest retired NFL player to express an interest in entering the coaching ranks and expressed a desire to work at his alma mater one day.

"I would love to come back and be the head coach of USC at some point and help lead USC to a national championship," he said to the Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi. "Lately, man, I've just been really having this urge inside of me to get out and coach because it's in me. And it's been something I've been thinking about a lot and actually talking to people about."

In terms of his coaching ambitions, Bush said he reached out directly to Sacramento State before they hired Brennan Marion.

The 2005 Heisman Trophy winner pointed to Kirby Smart, a Georgia alum, leading the Bulldogs to titles in 2021 and 2022 as his dream scenario at USC.

Of course, it's worth noting how Smart worked his way up the ladder. His full-time coaching career began in 2000 and it wasn't until 2016 that he got his first opportunity to become a head coach. He was also Alabama's defensive coordinator under Nick Saban from 2008-15 prior to leaving for Georgia.

But the success of Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado has emboldened former players to believe they can make a relatively seamless transition to coaching. Schools are increasingly willing to provide that opportunity, too.

Norfolk State just hired Michael Vick, while Delaware State tabbed DeSean Jackson as its next head coach. Eddie George wrapped up his fourth season at Tennessee State. Terrell Buckley's coaching career goes back even further to 2007, and he's finally getting his first college head-coaching gig at Mississippi Valley State.

There's no question Bush's legendary playing career at USC would help him get his foot in the door at a lot of big schools, Southern Cal probably included, though he does have an active lawsuit against the school and others over retrospective NIL money.

The 39-year-old will have to pay his dues, though, in order to reach the kind of level he's aspiring toward.

UConn head men's basketball coach Dan Hurley commented Tuesday after video of his animated discussion with a referee went viral on social media.

During the first half of the No. 19 Huskies' 80-78 overtime win against Butler, Hurley got heated with an official and appeared to say: "Don't turn your back on me, I'm the best coach in the f--king sport."

He was making his point pic.twitter.com/kfYOPMEmF5

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 22, 2025

Hurley neither confirmed nor denied what he said, but he expressed his desire for the spotlight to be on other coaches at times and not just him, telling reporters:

"I just wish they put the camera on the other coach more. ... I just wish they would show these other coaches losing their minds at the officials in other Big East games that I'm coaching where ... I'm not talking to officials; I see the other coaches as demonstrative as I am. But the camera, obviously ... I've created this for myself. I'm not the victim."

Hurley also said he was trying to get more "communication" out of the officials during Tuesday's game.

The 52-year-old Hurley is in the midst of his seventh season at Connecticut, and he has already put himself in the discussion as the best coach in the history of the program.

Hurley has posted a 155-63 record with the Huskies, reaching the NCAA tournament four times and winning the national championship in each of the past two seasons.

Before arriving at UConn, Hurley also had success as the head coach at Wagner and Rhode Island, going a collective 151-105 with two trips to the NCAA tourney.

Hurley's two national titles are the second most by a head coach in UConn history behind only the three won by Jim Calhoun, although it took Calhoun 25 seasons to win his third.

Hurley was both the Big East Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year last season by virtue of going 37-3 and winning a second consecutive championship, so it is tough to argue against the notion that he is the best coach in college basketball right now.

The Los Angeles Lakers thought highly of Hurley, as they pursued him after firing head coach Darvin Ham. Hurley ultimately decided to return to UConn and pursue a three-peat, which led the Lakers to hire JJ Redick.

Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer were all selected in the 2024 NBA draft, leaving Hurley with a much different team than the one he had the past two seasons.

Things haven't come as easily for the Huskies, which could partly explain his frustration with the officials, although Hurley has still managed to keep UConn in the top 25.

Since losing three games in a row early in the season, Connecticut is 10-2 over its past 12 contests, including victories over then-No. 15 Baylor and then-No. 8 Gonzaga.

Eight of UConn's past nine games have been decided by single digits as well, including a two-point loss to Villanova and a five-point loss to Creighton.

Hurley and the Huskies have a lot of work to do when it comes to reaching the NCAA tournament and winning a third straight title, but it cannot be denied that Hurley has helped UConn return to elite status among the college basketball powers.

Arkansas will be without its star freshman for the remainder of the season.

Per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, freshman guard Boogie Fland suffered a hand injury and will miss the rest of the 2024-25 season. In 18 games, Fland averaged 15.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.

Though Fland has played Arkansas' last two games against LSU and Missouri, Razorbacks coach John Calipari said he suffered the injury during a loss to Florida on Jan. 11.

"Boogie's hand, he fell in the game at our place against Florida," Calipari said after Saturday's loss to Missouri, per 247Sports' Connor Goodson. [Billy Richmond] jumped on him, so his hand is pretty bad. Don't know what we'll do going forward, but we've got to make sure that we get that thing right."

Fland is Arkansas' second-leading scorer only behind Adou Thiero, a junior who joined Calipari in Fayetteville after two years with Kentucky.

In a talented draft class highlighted by Duke star Cooper Flagg, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projects Fland to go the Dallas Mavericks with the No. 23 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Given the fact that he's out for the season could have an impact on Fland's draft stock, though scouts got a decent sample size during the first half of the season.

Of course, Fland could always return to Arkansas for another season after this year, but that seems a bit unlikely if he is still trending toward being a first-round pick later this year.

Arkansas got off to a decent start to the Calipari era, going 11-2 heading into conference play. The Razorbacks have quickly been exposed by a talented SEC field, however, going 0-5 to start conference play.

Things will only get more difficult for the Razorbacks without Fland.

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit was visibly emotional after his alma mater Ohio State defeated Notre Dame to win the national championship on Monday night, but he revealed that there was much more besides the victory that caused his reaction.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Herbstreit revealed that recent health scares for his wife Alison and his son Zak made the win for the Buckeyes carry even more weight in his mind.

"It was almost like a perfect storm for me," he said around the 1:25 mark. "My son had heart failure two years ago. They were talking about a heart replacement there for a while, and he had to medically retire. ... There was that side of it, looking down and seeing him in his jersey after potentially facing replacing your heart to that. I haven't really talked about this publicly, but Ali, my wife, faced some stuff. It's been a tough year for me behind the scenes. My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer. Ben dies. It was just a lot of emotion. And when you do what we do, you endure. You do your job."

"It's been a tough year for my family and I have a lot of gratitude for Ryan Day..

I was just so happy for him and his players..

My wife was in the booth with me and we were looking down watching our son" @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/hCaju4KUsK

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2025

Herbstreit praised Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his coaching staff for still embracing Zak and allowing him to remain with the program in what Herbstreit said is "almost like a [graduate assistant]" role. He and Alison were together in the broadcasting booth as they watched Zak and the rest of the Buckeyes celebrate the victory.

"It was almost like, I don't know, maybe a release of all that pent-up stuff, and it just got the best of me," Herbstreit added.

Deion Sanders went from being the head coach of a historically Black college and university at Jackson State to being the head coach of a power-conference school at Colorado, and Michael Vick is hoping to take a similar path.

Norfolk State hired Vick to become its next head coach in December, but he was looking ahead to the long-term future during a Tuesday appearance on I Am Athlete (55:45 mark).

"I see myself potentially going to a Power Five one day," he said. "That's the goal. Anything I get myself involved in, I'm always going to look into the future and where I can take it or where I can go. Or, where we can go. Because it's a team effort and I have to have a great staff around me."

While there's not really a Power Five any longer with the dissolution of the Pac-12, it isn't difficult to surmise he means a coaching job in either the Big Ten, SEC, ACC or Big 12.

Sanders' Buffaloes were in the Pac-12 during his first season as head coach in 2023 and then moved to the Big 12 for the 2024 campaign as part of a larger conference realignment shift. Colorado went from 4-8 in 2023 to 9-4 in 2024, and he was at least mentioned during discussions of who will become the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

As for Vick, he provides star power and a household name at Norfolk State, which should help with recruiting.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft was a four-time Pro Bowler and still remains one of the best running quarterbacks in league history. He helped define an entire era for the Atlanta Falcons, and will look to bring his NFL experience to the college game as a coach.

If he can turn around Norfolk State, it could catch the eye of the power-conference schools.

After all, the Spartans were 4-8 in 2024 and haven't enjoyed a winning record since the 2021 campaign. They will be under far more of a spotlight in the immediate future with Vick, and his ability to get the best out of his players will determine the program's ceiling.