Andy & Ari On3 - Bill Belichick SOUNDS like a college coach | Can he win at North Carolina?

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

You’ve had Wendy’s Nuggs dipped in sauce. But have you had them covered in sauce? Wendy’s New Saucy Nuggs take the Crispy and Spicy Nuggs you love and turn them up to 11. Choose between flavors like Buffalo. Honey BBQ. Garlic Parm. Or, if you’re a real heat seeker, try Spicy Ghost Pepper, only on Wendy’s signature Spicy Nuggs. This show is also sponsored by PrizePicks, America’s most fun daily fantasy game. Use the code STAPLES to play $5 and get $50 instantly. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/STAPLES Andy and Ari break down Bill Belichick’s first press conference as North Carolina’s coach. He didn’t make many bold promises, but he did have some of the new college coach press conference cliches down pat. Subscribe to On3!   youtube.com/on3sports/?sub_confirmati... Welcome to On3 | The best of college football and recruiting https://www.on3.com/ Listen to Andy & Ari On3 on podcast! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AhQ4d2m5TQu5Q2vkwtxjt?si=d9016221aa2a4427 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/andy-staples-on3/id1695325427 Follow Andy Staples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andy_Staples Follow Andy Staples on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_staples Follow Ari Wasserman on Twitter: https://x.com/AriWasserman Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/on3sports Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/on3/ Like/Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/On3Sports/ Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman Producer: River Bailey

Welcome to a special edition of Andy and Ari on three presented by Wendy's. Ari, we got to see Bill Belichick introduced at North Carolina and it was a Bill Belichick college football press conference and I realized we talked a lot about Bill Belichick this week, but every time I see something else, it's more amazing to me that this is happening. Like he is North Carolina's head coach now. You know, when it hit me, somebody asked him in the press conference, uh, Oh, can you outline your recruiting plan and do you plan on winning? I stopped immediately when I was just like, like, when you think about the questions that this man's been asked over his tenure

And like then to just be like hey Are you gonna do exactly what brent macbrown was trying to do like I thought that that was like really interesting but also at the same time too, like I was talking to a few people at north carolina this morning and They're like why does everybody keep asking whether bill Belichick can go into living rooms and sell recruits? Don't they know that's not how this shit works anymore. And it's like, it's true. Like it's just, he, he hired a former NFL GM to run his department

of talent acquisition, right? Like Michael and I, and I, and I assume that his plan or at least in his head right now was to delegate most of the scouting and at least most of the interaction with the kids upfront. You know, to those people. And then when people come to campus, he'll close the way that Mac Brown did. Right. So like, I don't know that I buy that all that much, but the question that I've been coming back to over and over and over again, Andy, and we talked about this on the phone after our show this morning, is why

would a 72 year old man with six Super Bowl rings who coached the greatest quarterback to ever walk the face of the earth and has also considered to be the greatest NFL coach of all time want to do this? Like, it doesn't make sense to me. And then that also opens up the secondary question which is what are realistic expectations for North Carolina now that he's the coach. And if it's when the ACC for the first time since 1980 when LT was on the team, does that hit him like in the love tank, the gratification sensor in his brain the same way as winning a freaking Super Bowl. Like I just don't understand. And maybe the answer is he loves football and he wasn't getting an NFL job and this was the best that was the that was the answer he gave. He didn't say the part about the NFL job. But the answer he gave is I love coaching. And he said, to and I thought it was actually a pretty good answer in the press conference where they asked, at your age, it was actually a reporter who was close to the same age as Bill Belichick. And so I liked the way the guy put it.

He's like, I say this with all due respect, but I'm the same age as you, why are you doing this? And Belichick's like, I just like coaching football. And he said, he said it doesn't feel like work to him, which is all the right things, which is we say that about our jobs, which is true. Like our job is not real work. I ever hit $20 million,

you're gonna find a new cohost. 20 million, is that all? I mean, like if I ever get to a point where I can buy a house in Malibu and not have to worry about working, like I'll be a guest, but it ain't gonna be every day. No, I mean, I'm kidding. I actually have actually pondered that of like,

if I had more money than I knew what to do with, would I still occupy my time with this? And I actually think that the answer is yes, cause I enjoy it so much. So maybe that's it. But at the same time too, it's like he didn't take the Bama job. He didn't take the Georgia job.

He took a second tier ACC job. And I'm not trying to disparage, North Carolina But like let's call it what it is. They haven't won an ACC championship in over three decades. So Maybe that's the excitement Maybe there's some sort of familial like roots to his parents or his dad that is driving the ship here You know people are strange as they get you know older and they start, you know contemplating life maybe that's part of it. But like, I don't love, well here, before I say that,

we don't always have to have the answer for what drives people by the way either. Like we're not entitled to that. If he wants to do that, and this is obviously the direction, he's a human being, he can do whatever he wants. But the thing that has irritated me is, I think as a result of not understanding this,

because it is bizarre, like we can call it what it is, it is bizarre. Not understanding it though, has led to hating it, but from a lot of people. I've seen a lot of negativity and anybody who listens to this podcast knows that I'm ready to hit the negative button

when it's time to be negative. But what's the point of being negative about this right now? Like they're trying something, the guy has been successful for a long period of time, he's a very name brand head coach. They supported him financially both in his salary and what they're willing to do from a support level. Like why am I reading a bunch of columns about how he was not going to be good at this? he was not going to be good at this.

We have people gatekeeping the sport is like issue. Yeah, I know is my fault. I mean, I muted there was noise. I muted. I will have to remake the sign. I don't have a sign for me, but we have I'll put the Ari sign up but just cross out Ari and put Andy. My bad. Look. We have people who gatekeep this sport.

Sometimes we do it. Sometimes you and I did it like you. You casuals don't understand college football and in this case it's it's a little silly because I think a lot of it is a response to people from NFL world going oh Bill Belichick's going to come in and run roughshod over college football and then there's people saying no it's a little more complicated than that but

it's not so complicated that Bill Belichick who has won six Super Bowls as a head coach can't come figure it out I think he can't I think expectations need to be realistic though and understandable. And it's sort of like what you asked, like what fills his his love tank, his passion bucket, as they say. And I think the idea of making the college football playoff competing for an ACC title, like those are things that are realistic, though aspirational when you're the North Carolina head coach. And I think that's probably what would satisfy, he understands that there's a challenge. And I don't know, it's Bill Belichick. So this is like 10 levels above everybody else. But you and I have been around a lot of hypercompetitive people, be they players, coaches, people in our field who've been very successful, those people identify a challenge and are happiest when they're working

toward meeting a challenge. Yeah. That's how they operate. That is what fills their love tank. You know what they say about like really, really wealthy people is that when people become super rich and people like us question, why do they keep trying to make money that like the actual gratification of

the journey for them is the accumulation of wealth, not what wealth can get you. Um, it's the price. It's like Nick Saban always talk about, which by the way, Nick Saban got it from Bill Belichick for the most part is it's the process. It's not the result. Yeah. But the thing that I think is interesting is, is that like if one of the richest people in the world who's making billion

dollar building deals got amped up about flipping my football cards, you know, like, and I don't know if it's as drastic as that analogy, but like winning the ACC championship, though a huge boom for North Carolina football fans fans when lined up against the personal accomplishments that Bill Belichick has already claimed. Like me as a normie can't, I can't register that. Like it doesn't make any sense to me. So maybe there was a, a certain like internal pride meter of like, Hey,

you know what, I can do something that's never been done in college for 30 years And maybe that's enough for him But like I think that the why is even though we may not be entitled in my opinion to know exactly what drives him I think it also was the crucial question to ask as it pertains to what the ceiling of the program is and how long He'll do it is like like that's the thing like, you know I know what can't why Kenny Dillingham shows up to work every day, you know, I know what, why Kenny Dillingham shows up to work every day. You know what I mean? I know why Ryan Day shows up to work every day. You know, why Kirby Smart does like there's a pursuit there to to

reach Kirby Smart has already done it twice. Like, yeah, I do it again. Smart. Now Kirby Smart is, is trying to be like saving probably right? Like you want to keep doing it. Davao has done the thing nine times already in his career that, that, that, Bill Belichick is striving to do now. Like, like, just reconciling that in my brain is bizarre. So we don't know what's going to happen. We do know who will be properly attired, though. Watch them. Presentation for coach.

Chancellor also. Alright, you guys are here. And I did get a new sport coat for the occasion. Oops, sorry about that. Well, Chancellor, thank you for the sweatshirt, but the truth of the matter is I already have one. That is Bill Belichick's father's UNC issued sweatshirt from the 1950s and if they don't have that on sale in the bookstore in two weeks they've failed miserably. Like stick a Jordan logo on that and let's let's roll and that was a athletic record Bubba Cunningham talking about getting a new sport coat and then putting on a sleeveless sport coat if you're listening in audio only form and he's after the rest of press conference in that

You think that he he slashed the sleeves of like a Hugo boss Or a Hickey Freeman or something like a nice suit. I don't think that was one of his. I'm hoping it's not one of his nicer ones. I'm hoping it's one of his older. Bubba's a very Natalie attired dude for the most part. So like listen, Andy, suits are expensive as hell, man. Oh, I know the good ones. A nice suit. Yeah, I don't know. But that that I first of all, the the short sleeve Jordan brand North Carolina sweatshirt,

that better be in the bookstore today. But the throwback Steve Belichick, not Steve Bill's son, but Steve Bill's father, like that's got to be in the bookstore in two weeks. It's got, and like, maybe that's the answer, Andy, maybe just seeing him hold that sweater up and like feeling like it's like, I mean he said coming back home to North Carolina, like, you know, I mean, he does view this place, I guess, in a, in a way that, you know, maybe they're just lucky enough. Like, I mean, I don't know, is this like LeBron being born in Akron and then like having a soft spot for the

calves in Cleveland? But LeBron was raised in Akron. Belichick was raised in Annapolis. So I know. So I'm trying to figure out like what the, I mean, maybe the personal connection of like, hey, you know, I don't know. Like if my grandfather started a business and that business was failing or not reaching its potential. And I knew that I could buy the business

and carry on my family's legacy and do something to shape it up so that maybe I would wanna do that. I don't know. Yeah. From like a person to person standpoint or a familiar aspect, a familial aspect to it. Maybe I don't know. Maybe there's a connection there that speaking of his younger days in Chapel Hill. Dolachek checked another college coach box. Like when you are introduced as a new college head coach, there are a few things you have to do. Talk about how great the school is. Talk about, you know,

how great the president is and the chancellor and the athletic director. You're also supposed to gig the rival at least once. And he did that. You know, when you're little, you don't remember everything. Obviously I was too young to remember a lot of things from Carolina, but as I grew up, you hear the same story over and over and over again. And so one story I always heard was Billy's first words were beat Duke. No, I don't think that's true. I think if he'd been hired, well, he could have done it if he's coaching Navy, because

I'm sure there were a lot of words he said about Navy and Army and all that growing up. But yeah, I don't know. But it's a great story. It works for the press conference. Whoever, if it's not true, whoever came up with it, A plus for effort. We got a question from foul in the chat. Do we know who's on his coaching staff? We actually do have one name Freddy kitchens, who is serving currently as North Carolina's interim coach. You've a brown legend. That's right. He was a Cleveland Browns coach.

We played at Alabama. So, but Brown's legend. I know he's a Cleveland Browns legend. You're right. You want to know why I keep saying that? Because when we were working at the athletic and he was hired, it was like right around the beginning times of the athletic, they sent the Cleveland Browns beat writer down to Alabama to do like a, you know, a Genesis song. And I just like always was amused by that because like, I or down to Alabama to do like a, you know, a Genesis story. Oh yeah.

You know, and I just like always was amused by that because like I got to do it. Then, you know, those were the good days. And I was just like, he's just down in Alabama writing about the Browns coach. Well, that's one we know. Michael Lombardi will be the GM. For those who don't know, Michael Lombardi

has been doing what Ari and I do for the last eight or so years. He's been doing what Ari and I do for the last eight or so years. He's been at Beeson doing a radio show, but he was the Cleveland Browns GM. He worked in player personality, NFL for a long time, including with Bill Belichick. So that's, he's going to be the GM. Just a thought, because you know, Ari Belichick was our competitor at one time as a podcaster. He's not anymore, but this past fall he had a podcast.

It was with Michael Lombardi and Matt Patricia, former Lions coach, longtime Belichick assistant. What do you want to bet the whole podcast crews coming to Chapel Hill? Matt Patricia was the defensive coordinator, right? That he turned into the offensive coordinator. And then their offense was historically terrible because he just never did that before. Isn't that the,

you know, it was actually worse the following year with Bill O'Brien who was a seasoned offensive coordinator and was a good college head coach this year at Boston college. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, in the NFL too, if you have a personnel issue and New England had a pretty stark one at the quarterback position since the GOAT left, then maybe you chalk that up to that. But, so let me ask you this. You know what I find kind of interesting and I'm probably

gonna pursue a story on, like with some reporting? Yeah. And you know what I find kind of interesting and I'm probably going to pursue a story on like with some reporting? Yeah. And you know, at on three, we have the resources to do this and I know a bunch of people, but like GMs or player personnel people in the college space aspire, a lot of them do to becoming NFL GMs. Like that's what that is, right? That is a beginning piece. And their professional journey. And now they hired a former NFL GM to be the GM. And I find that fascinating.

Like, I don't know how the Lombardi hire hits you Andy, but definitely interesting, right? It is because I want to know who's working with him. I want to know if it's people who like Patrick Suddus, who's already at North Carolina, who's one of the original like OG personnel guys came up through Saban's system in Alabama, worked at Texas, you know, was worked at a bunch of different places, worked at Georgia Tech. Like, is he is he going to stay? Or is he gone with the with the old stuff? Like, how does that work? So that's the that's the question. Like, are you gonna have a correlation is

there between draft analysts and breaking down young men versus high schoolers to like, I feel like it's, it's the same general thing. But like, how much does a player personnel director who's breaking down tape of a 15 year old have in common with a NFL GM who's breaking down draft tape in the combine tape? Probably pretty similar actually, just different. You think it's similar?

Yeah, it's just different levels there. But remember player personnel in the NFL means something different. Scouting is, you look at the college guys. So that would be the equivalent of recruiting at a high school player personnel is is when you're scouting the rest of the league, that would be your transfer portal people, which by the way, everybody's already got so all of this is not new. All like we said on the

show, all of this is not revolutionary. So I want to see who they have who's got some college experience. Because the best at this right now, we talk about Mark Pantoni at Ohio State, who's another one of the kind of the OGs of that position. But like Marshall Mauchau at Oregon, he's probably the best right now at that job. So can Michael Lombardi, who's been out of it and who's only worked in the NFL, can he do it as well? Or is he going to have to get some help from guys who've been doing it? I think that's important. I think that's going to be a pretty key thing. You know what I'm on here? What's that? Because we don't know what the staff is going to be.

And like I'm making this up. This is completely out of my ass. But I want you to like what about Randy Moss ride receivers coach? Like are you on alert for like former NFL player who is super coach prime brought Warren Sapp on I'm saying like but like to be like a full time assistant to kind of help with that recruiting. Like again like I don't know. It goes back. I mean, like we're great. I don't hear Dre Blay like yeah, for the same reason. So is not a person that would be interested in a assistant job in North Carolina because it will be somewhere. He's

going to be an NFL head coach. So but Bill Belichick has an entire stable of former assistants. Wes Welker, wide receiver coach, like Rob Gronkowski, tight end coach. Like I don't know if I'm over thinking this, but like the, the NFL-cation of college football makes a lot of sense. But like also too, I think he's gonna have to do something to make him more adaptable to the college space too, right? Because college is about hype and connectivity and all these things. And it's like if Randy Moss, again, completely made up, but if Randy Moss was recruiting high school receivers, like you might be able to get a few high school receivers who want to play for Randy Moss. You know what I mean? Like there's, there's like levels. But he does, I don't think he has to do that because he can also have a guy who's coached that position in the NFL for 20 years. And that is also going to make high school receivers want to come play for. So. But like, it's the Deion factor as an assistant, like, because Deion Sanders.

Yeah, but Deion has, like Warren Sapp as an analyst. He's also got coaches who did a really good job teaching, who you don't know, who aren't household names, who didn't all play, you know, who aren't all stars in the NFL. A lot of them did play in the NFL, but they weren't stars in the NFL necessarily. So that's, I think Belichick has a pretty deep Rolodex when it comes to that.

I will point out one thing from the press conference that I chuckled at. You gotta talk about how you're going to build mold men. It's a requirement. But it was so funny because he just loses steam trying to do it. Excited to be here. Excited to be in college football. Excited for the opportunity to build and develop young student-athletes, young men, and prepare them for their life either in the NFL or professionally, but the lessons they learn will be professional lessons. They'll be pros in all areas and that's what we want to develop as long as, as well as having a winning program, successful program, but we want to develop good people and good kids and good football players. I like it.

He's just looking over at public Cunningham at that point. Like, I'm done with this, right? I can just move on. I think it's a nice segue to this conversation though, Andy, because like part of me too, it's like that press, like Andy texted me guys, if you want to know how the sausage is made. Any quotes from the news conference that stood out to you that you think that we should talk about?

And my answer was, no, like I feel like that press conference was exactly what I've seen a million times watching sports center and just watching him do interviews with as the Patriots coach and like part of me was hoping that like five percent of me was like praying or like drooling at the notion of him coming out and being like I am a six-time Super Bowl champion we are an NFL franchise that That's what this is. If you are the one who knocks. No, no, but I'm saying like, or like just like beating the crap out of that. Like I wouldn't. I would have enjoyed him to get him him saying I'm not here to talk about molding men.

My job is to win. If I win, I'll get a I'll get a raise. If I lose, they'll fire my ass. Like that's what I want to hear a coach say at one point and bill Belichick of all people would be the one to do it, but even he didn't do it. So I'm never gonna get to see that. Just like I'm here to win football games, but in order to win football games, we also have to be champions in the classroom because that's a requirement. We understand what our job is here to do.

We're gonna support the young men in the classroom in order for them to, you know, be successful in that walk of life, but make no mistake about it, this is the NFL-cation of college football. We are going to make this an NFL franchise and there's nobody. That's what Herm Edwards did though. And it didn't really work. Yeah, but it doesn't hit the same.

I do realize. If you ask anybody what Herm Edwards, number one claim to fame is as a human being, they'll just go, you play to win the game. Like that's like what her like, you know, Bill Belichick can do the the picture with the hand in the rings, right? Like where you put the rings out with the knuckles, you know the Jordan or like this.

Well, you have to have another hand too. That's what I'm saying. Or put didn't Jordan put two on his index finger. I believe he did. Yeah, so. But I will say there was one point. And we'll wrap up with this one, that Bill Belichick handled masterfully. And it was, it was the one where I go, okay, he can definitely be a college head coach because he's already got this BS down. Bill, what do you say to people that fear that if you do succeed here, that you might leave for the NFL again in a year or two?

if you do succeed here that you might leave for the NFL again in a year or two. Yeah, I didn't come here to leave. And the slow clap, the. Beautiful, beautiful that like, because every coach has the dream job, like it has been my dream to coach East Tennessee State University since I was born. Coach, they didn't have a program when you were born. Doesn't matter. I dreamed of coaching East Tennessee State University. I also, I'll never leave for Tulsa.

Listen, listen, I don't want to be ageist. Okay. No offense. The man pushing 75 years old. He said I know, but I'm saying like. This isn't like a stepping stone. You know what I mean? Like it's like Mac Brown. People really think it is because they're they're thinking he's only thinking about Don Shula's record. He needs 15 more wins to pass him. And so realistically,

you need to average NFL seasons to do that. And so that's what to do. Everybody's doing the math on. And I don't know if he wants to go back to the NFL and if this is if he's going to try to use this as the smartest route to do that. Because if it goes poorly here, you're even less of a candidate than you were before. Yeah. You know what I think he's trying to do Ari? I'm gonna take Bill Belichick at face value. I think he wants to coach football. I think he's excited about a new challenge. And I honestly can't wait to see what happens

because this may be great. It may fail miserably. We have no idea, but it is the GOAT football coach coming to college football for the first time. And we're gonna get to watch it all unfold and I personally cannot wait.