"In 17-hour NCAA work week how much can you teach?" CFB analyst raises concerns over Bill Belichick's prowess at UNC heading into 2025

North Carolina gave Bill Belichick his first college football head coaching opportunity by hiring him in December 2024. However, the six-time Super Bowl winning coach's potential to replicate his NFL success in college football remains a big discussion ahead of the 2025 season.

Renowned football analyst Colin Cowherd fears that Belichick’s brilliance can be limited by the realities of the college game.

"That's my question with Belichick, is that will his brilliance be muted? And I think with Belichick, my question is, if he's smart enough, he's a brilliant guy. I always thought John Gruden would be an excellent college coach. He's got just enough BS in the recruiting trail. John could recruit.

"Jim Harbaugh were great college coaches and pro coaches, right? But the reason is they can recruit their personalities. They're walk-around guys more than just scheme guys."

Cowherd contrasted that with NFL coaches like Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid and Sean Payton, who excel in scheme but might struggle in the recruiting-heavy college environment.

"Belichick is a brilliant, brilliant football coach," Cowherd said. "But man, in a 17-hour NCAA-mandated work week, how much can you teach?"

Belichick takes over a UNC program that enters the 2025 season unranked and outside the preseason polls. However, the Tar Heels could benefit from a relatively favorable schedule, as ESPN’s College Football Power Index ranks their slate No. 71 in strength of schedule.

Tom Brady outlines Bill Belichick’s winning formula for UNC players

For years, NFL fans debated whether Bill Belichick or Tom Brady played the bigger role in building the New England Patriots’ golden dynasty. In truth, both credited each other for the program's success.

Now, with UNC set to begin the Belichick era on Sept. 1 against TCU at Kenan Stadium, Brady has shared what the Tar Heels' players are going to get in his former coach.

“He (Belichick) is gonna teach you the right fundamentals, the right techniques," Brady said on “The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast" on Monday. "He’s gonna have a high expectation for you and you’re gonna develop a lot. That’s what I know.”

UNC enters the 2025 season following a 6-7 record in 2024.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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