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Why Tom Brady doesn’t think Bill Belichick will coach college football
"Getting out there on the recruiting trail and dealing with all these college kids?"
The writing has been on the wall for months that Bill Belichick wants to return to coaching in the NFL ranks in 2025 and beyond.
But according to multiple reports, the legendary head coach is showing genuine interest in the head coaching vacancy at the University of North Carolina.
Belichick has already interviewed for the position at Chapel Hill, and has reportedly shown legitimate interest in moving onto the college ranks — especially if the Tar Heels can guarantee a succession plan where Belichick’s son, Steve, is named head coach in waiting with the program.
But count Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski among those who can’t see their former coach move on to the collegiate ranks.
“No,” Brady, who appeared in studio alongside Edelman, Gronkowski, and the rest of the FOX NFL crew, said when asked if he could see Belichick coaching in college.
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“Absolutely not,” Edelman added, with Gronkowski shaking his head in agreement.
“There’s a lot of things he can do, and obviously he’s tremendous, and even showing his personality,” Brady said of Belichick, who has pivoted to several media obligations this season after failing to land a head-coaching gig. “But getting out there on the recruiting trail and dealing with all these college kids.”
“Can you imagine NIL,” Gronkowski added.
“Could you imagine Bill on a couch, recruiting ,” Edelman asked.
Brady then did his best impression of Belichick making a pitch to a high-school recruit.
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“Listen, you really wanna come here,” Brady said with a scowl on his face. “I mean we don’t really want ya anyway, but I guess you could come. We’ll figure out if you’ll play.”
While Belichick’s former Patriots players aren’t buying into talk of him making the switch to college game, Belichick’s longtime friend and legendary college coach Nick Saban offered up a ringing endorsement of Belichick’s potential move to Chapel Hill.
“Relationship building is not as important, not that Bill wouldn’t be good at that,” Saban said on “The Pat McAfee Show” about Belichick’s efforts in recruiting. “It’s not as important now that you pay players. I think it becomes a little bit more about the money, and the deal that you make with them. So, it is a little bit more like pro football.”
“Bill’s an outstanding coach,” Saban added. “He’s very well organized. He’s a good teacher. I think he relates well with the players. I think he would do a great job in college.”
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