North Carolina football’s Plan A was Arthur Smith over Bill Belichick

The North Carolina football program made arguably the splashiest hire of the coaching cycle this winter. After program legend Mack Brown was fired by athletic director Bubba Cunningham, one of the reasons was to bring in a younger head coach. Well, Cunningham and the UNC brass did just that, hiring eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as the program’s new leader. Brown is 73, while Belichick is 72. However, if Cunningham had stuck to his original plan according to a report from ESPN’s David Hale, Andrea Adelson and Chris Low, then the new head coach would have been current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

“In truth, however, Cunningham had his sights set on another former NFL head coach — former UNC player and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith,” wrote the team of Hale, Adelson and Low.

It would have certainly been an interesting turn of events, as Smith could have been a better fit. After all, he played for the program. He’s a graduate of the university. He would have undoubtedly been at least a solid choice. However, the Tar Heels’ overtures to the current Steelers offensive coordinator made the situation an uncomfortable one, and he decided to withdraw. By then, it was Belichick or bust, a sentiment that continued to grow until the legendary head coach was offered the job, and he accepted.

Will Bill Belichick experiment work for North Carolina football?

Belichick’s hire was certainly one that shocked the entirety of the college football world. It was long expected that he would make a return to the NFL and chase Don Shula’s all-time wins record. After all, he is third in all-time regular season wins with 302. That mark is 16 wins behind George Halas and 26 behind Shula. Another two to four years of winning records would have likely given him the record. However, his style of leadership, where the legendary coach is the main decision maker of the organization, is no longer viable at the NFL level. In college, though? That’s a different story.

Head coaches run things in college football, and they are the final decision makers. Coaching staffs have more power as well, something Belichick is a fan of. It has been reported that Belichick and program general manager Michael Lombardi (a former NFL front office executive with experience working alongside the former New England Patriots head coach) will run the team like a “33rd NFL team.” If that is the case, then perhaps UNC will turn into the next factory of developing professional talent. Perhaps that in turn will allow one of pro football’s best coaches to return to the place of his glory.