In bolting to UNC, Bill Belichick rejects NFL before it can reject him – again

Bill Belichick’s motivation runs a lot deeper than chasing Don Shula.

In waving farewell to the NFL and resuming his coaching career at the University of North Carolina, Belichick, 72, provided what is probably the final answer to the notion that he was stoked to leave a mark as the winningest coach in league history.

No, in heading to the collegiate level, Belichick’s NFL legacy is merely stamped with the six Super Bowl championship rings he won during his 24 seasons as the New England Patriots coach – plus two more rings as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator.

That, and a bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

This stunning development – the five-year deal, with an average annual salary that reportedly could be significantly less than the estimated $22 million salary he earned on his last Patriots contract – is such a Belichick move.

Even if many, including some of his most prominent Patriots players, doubted that it would come to fruition after reports surfaced last week that he interviewed with the school for Mack Brown’s old job.

Six of the seven NFL teams besides the Patriots that had openings after last season didn’t even bother to interview Belichick?

Well, it’s on to Chapel Hill.

Belichick could have waited a few weeks for the next NFL hiring cycle to begin in earnest, including the three teams who have already fired their coach this season, but apparently, he was not about to set himself up for further NFL rejection. Besides, teams with openings or projected openings, could have surely signaled interest by now.

Of course, Belichick’s NFL prospects were complicated by the expectation that he would command complete control of the football operation, including the personnel department and GM power, which for many franchises makes him a no-go. It’s unclear how much Belichick would have backed off that perception of desired power if he landed an NFL job – and perhaps that would have depended on the specific franchise and who is already in place in key roles – but that’s water under the bridge at this point.

And it is probably fitting that if Belichick would take a college job it would be in Chapel Hill, where his late father, Steve, was an assistant coach for three years during the early-to-mid-1950s, when Belichick was a toddler.

Belichick’s father was an assistant coach and scout for 33 years at Navy, which is where Bill became indoctrinated to football.

All these years later, Belichick maintained, according to a statement from UNC, “I have always wanted to coach in college.”

Go ahead, say it out loud: Belichick is a Tar Heel. Strange, but true.

Undoubtedly, this is a big loss for the NFL, and not because of hype that could have surrounded Belichick in chasing the late Shula’s record as the winningest coach in NFL history. Belichick indeed holds the mark when it comes to career postseason victories with a 31-13 record, but his 333 total wins were 15 shy of surpassing Shula's output. And Belichick’s tally of 302 regular-season victories trails Shula’s 328.

Now, barring another unexpected episode, Shula’s record is safe.

It’s optics, to one degree. If a man with six Super Bowl rings (OK, eight) can’t get another shot as a coach, then, as Lombardi might have said, “What the ... is going on?”

In any event, Belichick has delivered quite a message of his own in bolting from the NFL: It’s still about the football.

The opportunity to coach, it turns out, is a bigger draw than chasing the record. No, Belichick has never promoted the idea that he wanted to continue coaching because of the record. The record chase became a byproduct of his success and longevity.

He left it to the rest of us, mindful of his appreciation for history, to gauge how much a motivator it was for him to chase Shula.

Now we know.

Sure, the college landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, to the point that Belichick envisions developing a program that will serve as an NFL pipeline. With name, image and likeness megabucks now layered on top of the cash machines that schools and super-conferences have rolled with for generations, major college football is, well, increasingly professional.

Still, as Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman discussed during a riveting segment on Fox’s pregame show on Sunday, the thought of Belichick recruiting 18-year-olds to play for him takes some imagination.

Then again, let’s not undersell the kids – or Belichick. You can believe that UNC envisions it has just landed some top players lured by the chance to be trained for their NFL dream by Belichick. Colorado’s program, rebuilt by “Coach Prime,” aka Deion Sanders, can certainly vouch for that.

How well Belichick is able relate to a younger generation may fuel other questions. Then again, he had roughly 50 years on his last few Patriots rookie classes. And when it comes to coaching football, winning would go a long way toward relating. And presumably, he’ll have plenty of help in dealing with other aspects of life for his players, including academics and social development.

Belichick will ultimately be judged on the college level as he was on the NFL level: by the football. And by the wins and losses.

Chasing Shula might not be in the cards now for Belichick, but he’d surely better handle his business against Duke, North Carolina State, Wake Forest and the rest of the ACC.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Belichick bolts to UNC, rejects NFL before it rejects him – again