- NCAA. Deion Sanders' unexpected response to a comment that agonized Shedeur Sanders
- NCAA. Deion Sanders offers Colorado fans a surprise gesture amid Shedeur Sanders' exit and NFL chatter
Despite some late hand-wringing, Bill Belichick has been appointed as the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels' football program. The fast-moving process that delivers a six-time Super Bowl champion to the collegiate ranks has taken the sports world by surprise; many expected Belichick to land another head coaching gig in the NFL following his January exit from the New England Patriots. But instead, Belichick is trying his hand at NCAA football -- which places a completely different set of demands on its head coaches.
Someone who has become quite familiar with the dynamics at play in the college circuit is Deion Sanders, who was still an active NFL player while Belichick was coaching the Patriots to Super Bowl titles. Since taking over at the University of Colorado in 2023, Sanders has faced all kinds of doubts about his ability to run a program and recruit talented players out of high school or through the transfer portal -- challenges that Belichick, signed to a five-year contract, will have to meet quickly.
Prime knows the challenges BB will face
Fortunately for Belichick, Coach Prime is in his corner as he begins his NCAA coaching journey in Chapel Hill. Sanders took to social media to welcome Belichick to the college ranks...in a way that only Coach Prime can.
"Coach Bill Belichick is a coaches' coach to all us coaches," Sanders wrote on X/Twitter. "I know this is a great thing for college football and for North Carolina."
Sanders' Colorado team will likely be an example that Belichick's new staff at North Carolina will use as a starting point to build a strong, sustainable program. After a 4-8 debut season on the sideline in 2023, Sanders and Colorado put together a good 2024 season, winning nine games and earning a place in the Alamo Bowl -- while star players Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders boosted their draft stocks, with both men likely to be selected in the first 10 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Belichick is hoping to find a similar level of success at UNC, where he will try to transfer his wealth of knowledge about pro football -- not to mention more than 300 wins at the NFL level -- to college players seeking to make it big.