Let’s be real—Bill Belichick at UNC always felt like seeing LeBron in a Timberwolves jersey. It just doesn’t compute. The hoodie king of Foxborough, the architect of Six Rings, is now playing recruiter for 18-year-olds who still gotta ask permission to stay out past curfew? Yeah, okay. But now, with UNC missing out on that fat $100M Big jackpot, the NFL ‘return’ is back on the table, according to NFL Network. Look, some folks and the fanbase are low-key ready to call quits on their HC and hit the ‘welcome back’ banner before he starts play calls in Chapel Hill.

College football is in the middle of a real-life Monopoly game, and the ACC is out here passing ‘Go’ without collecting much more than a participation trophy. The Big Ten is throwing around TV money like a rapper in a nightclub, promising its schools anywhere from $80M to $100M per year. Meanwhile, UNC—despite its blue-blood basketball status—is stuck in the ACC, where the checks are looking more like a side hustle than a main gig. Florida State and Miami? They’re packing their bags, trying to finesse their way into the Big Ten before the doors close. But UNC? Left standing outside the club with no VIP pass.

On 4th February, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wasn’t playing around when he hopped on ‘98.5 The Sports Hub’ and started stoking the Belichick-to-the-NFL flames. “I don’t believe that Bill’s never going back,” he said, flat-out rejecting the idea that Belichick’s college adventure is permanent. Then Michael Felger threw the real grenade: “Do you think if he had waited, he would have had a job this cycle?”

Pelissero didn’t hesitate. “That’s what I was going to get to….Bill has never said, ‘I never want to go back to the NFL… I wonder if Bill never takes that North Carolina job if he’s the head coach of the Raiders right now just because it put him a little bit out of sight, out of mind.” He even pointed out how Pete Carroll, at 73, just got a gig, meaning age isn’t a deal-breaker.

So, if Belichick had stayed on the market instead of jumping to UNC, would he be leading the Raiders right now? The Bears? The Jets? All of those teams had openings, and you gotta believe some owners at least considered dialing Bill’s number. UNC missing out on $100 million per year doesn’t just hurt the school—it probably changes the entire trajectory of Belichick’s coaching future.

Bill Belichick’s ‘Bird in Hand’ theory, according to Tom Pelisserro

Here’s the thing—Belichick doesn’t do waiting games. “I believe he would have had opportunities to interview,” Pelissero added. “Would he have gotten a job, though? I don’t know. And that’s precisely why he took the bird in hand at the time.” Translation: Bill Belichick didn’t want to wait a year for NFL GMs and owners to dial his celly. UNC and Michael Lombardi locked in on Bill at the perfect time.

But how long does the “bird in hand” stay appealing when you realize you’re playing for scraps in the ACC? The Big Ten’s $100M payday isn’t just a number—it’s the kind of game-changing revenue that attracts top-tier talent, improves facilities, and builds championship contenders. Without it, UNC risks being a bystander in the college football arms race.

The idea of Bill Belichick concluding his college career at UNC remains somewhat surreal. And unless he plans to spend his final coaching years grinding out 7-5 seasons and selling recruits on an “NFL-esque system,” the NFL will always be lurking. If a top job opens up in 2025—especially with a front office that respects his way of doing business—you’d best believe Belichick’s name will be in the mix.

Right now, he’s got UNC. But if that revenue checkbook doesn’t get any fatter and the ACC keeps looking like a second-tier league, don’t be shocked when those NFL calls get harder to ignore. After all, legends don’t fade away quietly—they return to the biggest stage.

And Bill Belichick? He’s no exception.