Chicago Bears' president Kevin Warren believes that the team's head coach opening will be the most coveted job in the NFL this offseason, but one candidate may not be waiting to find out.
ESPN Chicago's Peggy Kusinski reports that former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick may be headed to the college ranks. Belichick has already had multiple interviews with North Carolina to potentially be their next head football coach and Kusinski reports on Sunday that contract negotiations are underway.
#ChicagoBears fans scratch Bill Belichick off your list of potential head coaches. Contract negotiations with UNC are underway. I'm hearing he wants to prove his coaching legacy at the college level without Tom Brady's shadow over him, plus there is family legacy in Chapel…
— Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) December 8, 2024
When news first broke that Belichick was interviewing with the Tar Heels, many thought that the future Hall of Fame coach was simply putting word out to the NFL that he was ready to return to coaching. After being skipped over in last offseason's hiring cycle, Belichick has taken a handful of media jobs this season in what many view as a way for the former Patriots' head coach to brand himself in a new light.
Given the added relevancy of the transfer portal and NIL deals in recent years, being the head coach of a college football program has begun to rival the same role at the NFL level. While nothing is official until Belichick signs on the dotted line, it seems that the Bears already be a candidate down in their search for a new head coach.
Even before progress was made between Belichick and North Carolina, it was tough to envision a pairing with the Bears. Belichick's arrival would have likely signaled the end of Ryan Poles' control over the Bears' roster while giving the Bears head coach who believed they were bigger than the franchise. It seemed like that would have been a tough sell for Warren to pass along to the McCaskey Family.
The only downside for the Bears to Belichick taking the North Carolina job is that they will be unable to bring him in for an interview at Halas Hall. While Belichick being hired as the Bears' next head coach would have been a questionable decision, there's no question they should, at least, gather his input on the organization during an interview.