Tom Brady previews Bill Belichick era at UNC, expects learning curve in college

Bill Belichick is considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, but it’s unclear how his success in the NFL will translate to the collegiate level. During an appearance on The Joel Klatt Show, legendary quarterback and former Belichick pupil Tom Brady revealed what to expect from the 73-year-old head coach.

“What they’re going to get is obviously the most prepared, the most hard working coach that I’d ever been around,” Brady said. “If you go to that school, you will be prepared to play at the next level. He’s going to teach you the right fundamentals, the right techniques. He’s going to have a high expectation for you, and you’re going to develop a lot. That’s what I know.

“I think the challenge for him is he’s dealing with a lot of probably underdeveloped players because he’s dealt with guys that are 4, 5, 6 years further along than what he’s normally had to deal with. So I think there’s probably a learning curve for him. This is just me hypothesizing. I don’t have much knowledge of it, but I’m sure it’s different coaching a 17 or 18 year old than even a 22 or 23 year old.”

Belichick has never allowed a new challenge to stand in his way before. With Brady by his side, Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, the most ever by an NFL head coach.

Belichick plans on translating that expertise to the college level. When he took the job, Belichick emphasized that he plans on running the program like a professional organization and, as a result, producing professional players.

If Belichick can acquire enough professional talent on his team, the wins will come. While Brady doesn’t doubt Belichick’s ability to teach his players, he’s worried the college athletes won’t be able to give Belichick the same level of dedication NFL players could.

“He’s a very deep thinker of the sport,” Brady said. “What makes Coach Belichick so unbelievable, tactically, he can break down an opponent. He watches so much film. He is so smart with how he approaches defensive schemes and offensive schemes, and how much can these young kids retain? That may be an interesting challenge as well, because in some ways, they’re not professional.

“They don’t have as much time as we have as professional athletes to go in there and study film and practice and meet and all that. And they don’t have that amount of time at the college level.”

It won’t be long before many of these looming questions are answered. On Sept. 1, North Carolina will kick off its 2025 campaign with a showdown against TCU at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.