Bill Belichick is going to be the head football coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. That’s huge news, and Belichick’s presence at UNC is going to change the college football landscape and be the talk of this offseason.
There was a special nugget of information amid the news of Belichick signing a five-year deal to coach the Tar Heels. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, if the Tar Heels couldn’t land Belichick — an eight-time Super Bowl winner (six times as head coach of the New England Patriots) — former Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees was expected to be the favorite for the UNC role.
Rees is currently the passing game specialist & tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns, but he built a nice resume for himself in the college ranks after his playing career ended.
Rees was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2023, and he was seen as one of the key contributors to the growth of quarterback Jalen Milroe. Before that, he had spent three seasons as offensive coordinator at his alma mater.
As Shefter reported, Rees had Saban’s support for the UNC job. That didn’t happen, obviously, but as big-time jobs open up in the next year and a half — look for Rees to be one of the most popular names on the job market.
