Bill Belichick's college try has been a miserable failure as the first-year head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football program. At 73, would he attempt to succeed one more time in the NFL?
UNC has started the 2025 season in the ACC at 2-3 with a 0-1 conference record, putting them in 14th place among 17 teams. That's a far cry from a consistent winner with the Patriots, who has six Super Bowl rings as an all-time great pro coach.
Signs are pointing to Belichick being one and done in Chapel Hill, putting a quick end to a disastrous experiment.
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Here's exploring his options for a potential new NFL gig, from the sidelines to television
Bill Belichick's best 2026 landing spots
New York Giants
Belichick, before his Patriots rings, won his first two Super Bowls as ace defensive coordinator for Bill Parcells with the Giants from 1985-1990. That success got Belichick his first NFL head-coaching jo with the Browns.
The Giants have some pieces to interest Belichick in leading a quick winning turnaround, with dynamic dual-threat rookie Jaxson Dart now having the offensive reins and a defense with some talent up front, led by Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie Abdul Carter. For Belichick to cleanse himself of the mess, don't be shocked if he leaves Lawrence Taylor's alma mater to join Taylor's former NFL team.
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Miami Dolphins
Belichick coaching where all-time NFL wins leader Don Shula did for 26 seasons would be a historic twist. He could also follow two more greats, Jimmy Johnson and his bestie, Nick Saban. Saban went 15-17 as the Dolphins from 2005-2006 before he returned to college, spent 17 seasons at Alabama to post a 206-29 record and six national championships.
It would be wild to see Belichick coach against the Patriots twice and try to see if can fare better and last longer on the job than Saban. The Dolphins need to rediscover their offensive mojo and fix the defense, but Belichick trying to turn around a New England rival to catch up with Buffalo and his old team would be something to watch.
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Tennessee Titans
Belichick was born in Nashville so it might be rather appropriate for him to finish his NFL career in Music City in a weird delay successor swap with former Titans coach Mike Vrabel, now the Patriots coach. As Vrabel replaced Jerod Mayo, Belichick would replace Brian Callahan, who started 4-18 through Week 5 of 2025.
With the Texans being the two-time reigning AFC South champions and both the Jaguars (4-1) and Colts (4-1) enjoying big turnaround seasons, this isn't the best place for Belichick to rack up wins. But he might accept the challenge of molding some good defensive pieces and working to make Cam Ward a winning NFL QB.
"Sunday NFL Countdown"
Rex Ryan was used to losing to Belichick plenty (4-12) in the Jets and Bills vs. Patriots matchups in the AFC East. Ryan has become has been a cheap hot take artist on ESPN's pregame show, also known as a classic blowhard. The Worldwide Leader should have some sense of wanting to replace him with someone more astute in the vein of Saban, a rising TV star on "College GameDay". Belichick is the easy choice should he get the offer.
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"Football Night in America"
When compared to "Fox NFL Sunday" and CBS' "The NFL Today", FNIA is not great as a pregame show for NBC ahead of "Sunday Night Football."
Maria Taylor is a solid host, but between Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty, Chris Simms, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison, it's not the smoothest or smartest analysis, a stark contrast to the whip-smart SNF combination of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth. Belichick would be an intriguing replacement upgrade to break down the pre-primetime action on Sundays.
"Inside the NFL"
This was a strong pre-North Carolina TV analyst job for Belichick on the midweek highlight and opinion show that now airs on The CW. This should be available to him for a return, as well his guest appearances on the "ManningCast", ESPN's alternate "Monday Night Football" telecasts featuring Peyton and Eli Manning.
Bill Belichick's NFL coaching record
Belichick went 266-121 in 24 regular seasons as the Patriots' coach with a 30-12 playoff mark that included six Super Bowl victories and nine AFC championships. Before then, he was 36-44 in five seasons with the Browns, 1-1 in the playoffs.
Belichick's 302 total regular-season wins are third all-time, behind only late Hall of Fame legends Shula (328) and George Halas (318). Needing 27 wins to break Shula's record, he would need to coach at least three more NFL seasons to have a shot.
At the same time, Andy Reid, with 275 wins, is only 27 wins behind Belichick with no hint of retiring from Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs anytime soon. Belichick, a noted NFL historian, will be wary of trying to still move up the list while not slipping to fourth.