Bill Belichick is heading into his first season as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football program.
While Belichick is making a late-career move into the college football game, he'll always be remembered for his incredible decades-long career in the NFL.
Belichick spent 29 seasons as a head coach in the NFL, winning six Super Bowl rings during his dynastic run with the New England Patriots. With his unprecedented championship success, he's widely regarded as the greatest NFL coach of all time.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Belichick was selected as the head coach of ESPN's NFL All Quarter Century Team. Six of his New England players — Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork, Darrelle Revis and Matthew Slater — were also named to the team.
"We wrestled back and forth here, considering both Belichick and Andy Reid," ESPN's Aaron Schatz wrote." Reid has the advantage of sustained success with multiple quarterbacks and multiple franchises, but we went with Belichick because of his superior success in the postseason: nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl championships."
"Belichick also won in different ways. His early Patriots teams were more about the defense, highlighted by a game plan that slowed down the 2001 Rams' dynamic offense. The midcareer Patriots were offensive juggernauts. At the end of his New England tenure, the team went back to being defense-first, highlighted by a 13-3 victory in its final Super Bowl."
Kyle Shanahan was recognized as offensive coordinator, and Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator behind Belichick.
UNC football took to social media to react to this announcement on Friday.
"Congratulations to @Belichick_B on being selected as Head Coach of the @espn NFL All Quarter Century Team!" the team wrote on X.
— Carolina Football (@UNCFootball) June 20, 2025
Congratulations to @Belichick_B on being selected as Head Coach of the @espn NFL All Quarter Century Team! pic.twitter.com/VSfNXv2Y6P
Belichick's college football coaching career will begin when North Carolina kicks off its regular-season schedule with a matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs on Sep. 1.
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Ryan Pellum's career with the Oregon Ducks was over before it even started, but it may have new life. The former four-star wideout from Long Beach, California, was ranked as the No. 26 wide receiver in the 2024 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Pellum took a redshirt last season at Oregon before hitting the transfer portal in January. He was then arrested and charged with assault with use of a firearm after he allegedly pistol-whipped someone in his hometown on Christmas Day in 2024. In June, Pellum was sentenced to probation as part of a plea deal, and now he's trying to get his college football hopes back on track. As such, it's being reported that Pellum will transfer to Delaware State for the 2025 season. Notably, he'll be joining up with former NFL star and three-time Pro Bowler DeSean Jackson, who is heading into his first season as the Hornets' head coach. As a senior in high school, Pellum caught 66 passes for 991 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was at one time committed to USC, but he flipped to Dan Lanning and the Ducks on signing day. Delaware State, located in Dover, Delaware, is an FCS program that is a part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The Hornets went 2-21 over the past two seasons under head coach Lee Hull, who was fired less than two years after he took over the program.
Veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward is in the middle of a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s unclear when it will end. With the regular season quickly approaching, a former NFL general manager went out of his way to blast Heyward over the situation. During an appearance on “93.7 The Fan Wednesday Morning,” former Buffalo Bills general manager and Steelers executive Doug Whaley blasted Heyward for getting into a contract dispute after just signing an extension last offseason. Overall, Whaley believes that Heyward is overstepping his bounds by asking for another revised contract. “Think about this. The 15 years of goodwill Cam Heyward has gained in the public and on the team, it’s smashed over this lack of foresight,” proclaimed Whaley. So to me, it’s an abject failure for Cam. So, I can understand why he has such vitriol from the fans because you should have [done] this before.. In the end, it’s not on the Steelers. This is on Cam Heyward and his camp.” Heyward, who is 36 years old, most recently signed a two-year, $29 million contract with the Steelers. The deal has Cam Heyward with the organization through the 2026-27 campaign. He received $16 million in guaranteed money on the deal with a $14.7 million signing bonus. Last season, the seven-time Pro Bowler put up ridiculous numbers, as he is still regarded as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. He ended the 2024-25 season with 71 combined tackles (35 solo), 20 quarterback hits, 8.0 sacks, and 12 tackles for a loss. Cam Heyward recently opened up and shared that he feels his performance from last season deserves more pay. The Steelers star also admitted that after originally signing his current contract that he told the front office that he would be back asking for more pay after having an All-Pro season. Heyward did, in fact, have an All-Pro season last year, making it the fourth time in his career that he achieved that feat. Only time will tell if the Steelers give in or not. At the very least, Cam Heyward is a hold-in, as he’s at least arriving at the facility during training camp. However, that is more so to avoid being fined.
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