Will Bill Belichick be successful in North Carolina? We break down your biggest challenges

College football just inherited one of the most successful and controversial coaches in NFL history. Bill Belichick may not like headlines, but he certainly makes them everywhere he goes. And that will no doubt continue in North Carolina.

This is a fascinating time to see if Belichick, a square peg, can climb into the NIL-sized black hole of college football.

College football is more of a business than ever, which is probably what Belichick, a professional coach, sees as an opportunity. And yet, it’s easy to wonder if the coach is immersing himself in a world he doesn’t know enough about. No one knows if he can build something modeled after what he did for two decades with the Patriots. But he made it clear that that is his intention: to build a professional program in college football.

To break down what that could look like, FOX Sports national college football analyst RJ Young and NFL reporter Henry McKenna, who covered Belichick and the Patriots for years, dive into what the six-time Super Bowl champion at UNC. And where it could go right or wrong.

1. What do you think is the biggest challenge Bill Belichick will face moving from the NFL to college?

Young RJ: Skepticism within the sport is its greatest challenge. What will be questioned is not whether he is a good coach, but how long he could be at UNC. Belichick is one of the greatest NFL coaches who ever lived, certainly the best in the salary cap era. However, at 72 years old, he is a relative newcomer to the sport.

[RELATED: Bill Belichick at UNC introduction: ‘I didn’t come here to leave’]

UNC’s desire to hire Belichick starts with name recognition first, and we’ve seen that work with coaches who have less college football experience. However, the traits that make Belichick great are still forming in college football. An unprecedented amount of roster turnover, managing a salary cap and evaluating talent are skills he not only possesses but are also known for. That may not be enough. But it’s enough to start building.

What made Belichick’s close friend Nick Saban the greatest college football coach of all time was his unique ability to push recruiting and development rules to the limit. In a time when college football is and will be more like the NFL, perhaps Belichick can do the same to take UNC to heights never seen before.

Henry McKenna: Meetings. That’s what current and former Patriots players have told me could be a problem. In New England, Belichick was famous for scheduling 30-minute meetings with the entire team in the mornings, but those meetings lasted 90 minutes. They were creators of culture. And Belichick’s mood was fierce, with the coach sometimes going on tirades that made players feel like they couldn’t even go to the bathroom.

So there are at least two problems. Belichick will have just eight hours per week to meet with UNC players, per NCAA rules. And you could lose your players if you attack them for 90 minutes the morning after a game. With professionals, that critical approach is part of the job. For college students, it can seem irritating, particularly when the transfer portal annually dangles a golden carrot for players to walk out the door and never return.

In his inaugural news conference, Belichick said he was excited to spend more time on the field with players under NCAA rules. That’s where he feels he can make up for the time he’ll lose off the field. But I’m not sure I’ll buy it. The Patriots built their championships around preparation. They outplayed other teams off the field more than anything else. I just don’t see how that’s a cornerstone in the same way in college.

2. NIL has become a very important part of the current college football landscape. What are the keys for Belichick to be successful in that area while also being able to coach the team on the field?

Young RJ: Name, image and likeness dollar equivalent has to do with how much money people are willing to spend to associate themselves with a name, image or likeness. North Carolina’s bet is that there are plenty of people and corporations willing to invest in UNC athletics — not just football — because Belichick coaches the Tar Heels.

Taking advantage of those opportunities along with Belichick’s previous success in the NFL to recruit the best players in the country is critical for any aspiring building of excellence in Chapel Hill. There is no college football coach (nor has there been one) with six Super Bowl rings and the claim to coach the greatest player the NFL has ever seen: Tom Brady. It’s time for UNC to put a dollar amount on what that’s worth and then figure out how far its collective NIL can grow.

[RELATED: Why Tom Brady said Bill Belichick taking the UNC job ‘blew me away’]

Henry McKenna: Can he win right away? In the NFL, that cured many of the other ills that arose in New England. When it came to finances and transactions, Belichick was notoriously ruthless in turning over his roster when a player appeared to be aging, or his behavior and/or work ethic no longer matched what the team needed. When the team traded Randy Moss, they kept winning. The same thing happened when the team parted ways with Wes Welker, Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins and so many others.

Despite that ruthless approach, Belichick was still able to recruit players and even convince them to accept less money. As? They would have a chance to chase a ring and play with Tom Brady.

But when the Patriots started losing and the coach parted ways with Brady, Belichick lost his shine. At this point, his reputation is no longer what it was. He’s at UNC because he didn’t think NFL interest would arise during this recruiting cycle. So if he can’t get UNC off to a good start, then his lack of bedside manner will be even harder for players to tolerate, whether in NIL negotiations, in the recruiting process, or during transfer portal discussions. .

Belichick can only afford to have an apathetic approach to players’ demands if he is winning.

[RELATED: After talk with Bill Belichick, 4-Star QB Bryce Baker sticks with UNC commitment]

3. We have seen examples of coaches who went from the NFL to college and vice versa. When you look at the path Belichick has taken toward North Carolina, are there any parallels you can draw with this move?

Young RJ: There are those obvious figures like Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll. All of them were head coaches at the NFL and at the Power 4 level. Each won at least one Super Bowl and one national title.

But what Belichick is trying to do is more like what Deion Sanders has done in Colorado. Belichick is a coach with a once-in-a-lifetime resume but no college head coaching experience who will take over a program that lacks an identity aside from some success under Mack Brown. He is building an NFL-style coaching staff and hopes to begin working with a roster selected from the transfer portal. Sanders needed a year in Colorado to get it right. After a 4-8 first season, his Buffaloes finished 9-3 and produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Year 2.

I challenge Bill Belichick to do better.

Henry McKenna: I think Belichick would like his move to UNC to be similar to Nick Saban’s transition from the NFL to college football. And I don’t just say that from a winning point of view. I say this from the point of view of the cultural environment. Belichick and Saban are best friends. They built their programs similarly. And while Saban finally escaped the headaches of NIL and the transfer portal, Belichick is running toward them. You will have a great staff to help you navigate the rigors of the matter. You are going to run your program like a business. And he has long been a shrewd asset manager, obsessed with finding loopholes and/or rules that can work in his favor. There should be enough in a system that is still being baked like NIL.

I think the comparisons to Deion Sanders are interesting, because there is a sense of football celebrity. But Deion has really embraced the individualism of college football and the NIL. Belichick won’t do it. Think about it this way: Deion allowed his players to put their Instagram handles on their jerseys; Belichick didn’t even let his rookies choose their jersey numbers for the first three months, forcing them to practice with team-assigned numbers. That’s why Belichick’s former players feel he has to change.

But will he do it? Can he?

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The number one college football show.“Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_joven and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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