Bill Belichick appears to have legitimate interest in coaching at the collegiate level, and one fellow former NFL coach does not seem to think that is a great idea.
Bruce Arians discussed Belichick’s ongoing talks with North Carolina during the latest episode of the “Scoop City” podcast, which was released on Tuesday. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach said he has one piece of advice for Belichick, and that is to have plenty of patience if the 72-year-old decides to take a college job.
“I’m very, very surprised. I thought for sure he’d wait for the NFL hiring process to play out,” Arians said. “There’s some good things in going back to college, but I had no patience with rookies. I damn sure don’t have patience for freshmen.
“If I’m gonna give Bill one bit of advice — you better bring a lot of patience with you. Dealing with rookies making money, but now freshmen making money? It’s gotta be ridiculous trying to coach those guys.”
Bruce Arians joined @ChaseDaniel and me on Scoop City to discuss:
Advice for Bill Belichick
Recruiting Tom Brady
What makes a good owner (and a bad one)Plus, has the Kirk Cousins contract backfired on the Falcons?https://t.co/VN2ZQKqgj0 pic.twitter.com/WBKVI5VHBo
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Unlike Belichick, Arians has some college coaching experience. Arians worked for several different college programs at the start of his coaching career and was the head coach at Temple from 1983-1988. He was also the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State and Alabama in the 1990s.
That was long, long before NIL money came along. Arians, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, said it is hard enough dealing with rookies once they start making money and their egos are inflated. Now that top college players can make money, he believes that will present a challenge for coaches at that level.
It is still unclear if Belichick would actually take a college job or if he is trying to leverage NFL teams. North Carolina could also face one big obstacle even if Belichick really does want to join the program.
