What has Bill Belichick done? A look at the new UNC coach’s career highlights

Bill Belichick is among the best coaches in the history of the NFL. He won six Super Bowl titles as head coach of the New England Patriots, and two more as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.

But Belichick — famous for his curt, curmudgeonly answers as much as for his success of the field — has been around football for much more than a handful of championships.

Here is a timeline of important moments in Belichick’s career:

1976 — In his first job at the pro level, Belichick was part of Tommy Hudspeth’s staff with the Detroit Lions. The whole staff was fired after the 1977 season.

1979 — Belichick latches on with the New York Giants, and begins a 12-year run with the team. After working as an assistant under Ray Perkins, Belichick assumes control of the defense under head coach Bill Parcells. That tandem helps the Giants to two Super Bowl wins.

1991 — Belichick earns his first head-coaching gig, with the Cleveland Browns. After a playoff run in 1994, Browns owner Art Modell announces the team’s intended move to Baltimore during the 1995 season. The Browns falter the rest of the way, and Belichick and his staff are fired.

1996 — Belichick goes back to the Super Bowl with Parcells, as an assistant in New England. Belichick begins forming his relationship with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

January 2000 — After a messy divorce with the Patriots in 1997, Parcells and Belichick went together to the New York Jets. After the 1999 season, Parcells resigned as Jets head coach. Belichick was supposed to be elevated to the job. Instead, Belichick scribbled “I resign as HC of the NYJ” on a napkin, attended his introductory press conference, and explained he was leaving. Soon after, Kraft hired him to lead the Patriots, replacing a fired Pete Carroll.

April 2000 — The Patriots selected former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady 199th overall in the sixth round of the NFL draft. Belichick stashed him on the roster as the team’s fourth quarterback with Brady appearing in only one game his rookie season. The Patriots finished 5-11 in Belichick’s first season as New England’s coach.

2001 — Belichick elevated Brady to Drew Bledsoe’s backup to begin the season. In Week 2, after Bledsoe sustained a concussion and a collapsed lung in the second half of a game against the Jets, Brady took over under center. The Patriots went on to win their first Super Bowl, upsetting the St. Louis Rams.

2003 — The Patriots win the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons, beating the Carolina Panthers, 32-29.

2004 — The Patriots became a full-fledged dynasty under Belichick with their third Super Bowl win in four years, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.

2007 — “Spygate!” An NFL investigation validates claims that a New England videographer was recording defensive signals used by the Jets during a season-opening win. The Patriots were fined $250,000 and docked a first-round draft pick for violating NFL rules. Belichick was fined $500,000.

2007 — The Patriots responded to “Spygate” by averaging an NFL-best 36.8 points per game. They beat their first eight opponents by a combined 204 points. New England completed a perfect regular season, finishing with a 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. But the Patriots’ hopes of an unbeaten season ended in 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the Giants.

2011 — The Patriots finished the regular season 13-3 and earned a trip to their fifth Super Bowl under Belichick. But they were again thwarted by the Giants in a 21-17 loss.

2014 — The Patriots finished their third straight regular season with 12 wins and earned their sixth trip to the Super Bowl in Belichick’s tenure. The game ended in dramatic fashion when undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler intercepted Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s short throw into the end zone and the Patriots end a decade-long drought without an NFL title by beating the defending champion Seahawks, 28-24.

2016 — The Patriots earned a fifth Super Bowl win in historic fashion, rallying from a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, in Super Bowl 51.

2017 — Patriots made their eighth Super Bowl appearance under Belichick, but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on the “Philly Special” trick play.

2018 — New England rebounded from the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles and made its ninth Super Bowl appearance under Belichick, beating the Rams 13-3 to capture the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy. Belichick joined George Halas and Curly Lambeau as the only coaches with six NFL championships.

2020 — Belichick acquired former MVP Cam Newton to replace a departed Brady, but the Patriots stumbled to a 7-9 finish. Brady, meanwhile, led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win, earning his seventh ring.

2021 — The Patriots drafted former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. Jones got a Pro Bowl bid as a rookie and the Patriots went 10-7 in the regular season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Buffalo, 47-17.

January 2024 — After stumbling through a pair of lackluster seasons, during which Belichick tried some questionable coaching assignments, the Belichick-Kraft marriage dissolved. The Patriots and the sure-to-be Hall-of-Fame coach parted ways after 24 seasons and nine trips to the Super Bowl, including six wins.

December 2024 — After spending time as a television analyst and being on the hot-list for several NFL coaching vacancies, Belichick is hired as the next head football coach at the University of North Carolina, marking his first head coaching job at the college level.