One of the things that we have been preaching since the hiring of Bill Belichick became official is that you should never get too comfortable with the fact that he will be the Tar Heels head coach in a game until he actually takes the field against TCU. Thursday was another reminder of that with reports about Belichick’s contract status.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports is reporting that, as of this morning, Belichick has yet to sign his contract with the university. While this is not uncommon, it is certainly noteworthy with the NFL coaching legend who has been brought up for multiple jobs that remain open at this time. Jones says that the fact that the contract is still unsigned creates a “legal gray area” surrounding Belichick’s buyout, something that the program is hoping to hang their hat on when it comes to NFL teams that could be pursuing him.
Belichick signed a term proposal sheet back on December 11th when the hire became official, something that is common for head coaching contracts at the college level. According to Jones, the conversations on specifics in contracts typically last months before coaches officially sign their contracts.
General manager Michael Lombardi took to Twitter again this morning to push back on the notion that Belichick has any interest in the NFL. “Bill is recruiting in DC today and Baltimore tomorrow. His focus is on North Carolina football, hiring staff members and developing the team. The NFL isnt a option so please stop making it one. Thank you.”
The concern here is that a team could currently take Belichick without having to pay a single dime because of the fact that the contract is not officially signed. While it seems unlikely that he will leave for an NFL job with Ben Johnson being the focus in Las Vegas and Deion Sanders being the favorite to land the Dallas Cowboys job, this is still a vulnerable position for the Tar Heels to be in and one that the program should want to get resolved as soon as possible.
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