North Carolina players showcased their skills for NFL teams at the school’s pro day on Monday, but the most high-profile member of the Tar Heels program was notably absent from the event. There may have been a good reason for that.
Bill Belichick was not in attendance as coaches, scouts and executives evaluated UNC players ahead of the NFL Draft. According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, the six-time Super Bowl champion coach was instead leading staff meetings from 7 a.m. until noon, which overlapped with pro day.
Was there really no way for Belichick to rearrange his schedule? The 72-year-old almost certainly could have found a way to make an appearance at pro day, but he chose not to.
Josh Washburn, an NFL scout based in the Charlotte area, offered a theory on why both Belichick and UNC general manager Michael Lombardi were no-shows.
“I think Bill’s just letting Mack’s guys be Mack’s guys, then he wants his guys to be his guys,” Washburn told The Athletic. “None of us really expected to see Bill or Lombardi.”
Washburn was referring to former UNC head coach Mack Brown, who led the program from 2019 until he was fired late last season. The players who were trying to impress NFL teams at Monday’s pro day were not coached by Belichick, so there was probably very little Belichick could offer to those who had questions about them.
Belichick also knows that his new journey in Chapel Hill has been one of the biggest stories in sports. It is possible he did not want to take any of the spotlight off players who were hoping to make an impression on NFL teams and earn an opportunity at the next level.
Whatever the reason, it was probably a valid one. Belichick is not the type of guy to miss an event due to a scheduling conflict. The legendary coach is the one who makes the schedule, so his absence on Monday was undoubtedly deliberate.
