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Bill Belichick shares difference between coaching NFL and college players

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Jul 24, 2025 4:49 PM ET

Bill Belichick is in his first season as a college head coach after 50 years of coaching in the NFL, and the six-time Super Bowl champion has already noticed some differences between the two jobs.

Belichick answered a variety of questions from reporters during ACC Media Days on Thursday. The North Carolina coach was asked to compare coaching college players versus professionals. Belichick spoke about how college players have fewer “bad habits.”

“The great thing about working with college players is the growth and development; to see how much they improve from the spring to training camp,” Belichick said. “On the college end, sometimes the players are younger and less skilled but they are also more receptive to coaching.”

Bill Belichick:

“The great thing about working with college players is the growth and development; to see how much they improve from the spring to training camp. On the college end, sometimes the players are younger and less skilled but they are also more receptive to…
— Cole Bryson (@TheColeBryson) July 24, 2025

Belichick essentially said the success that some NFL players had at the collegiate level tends to go to their heads. He said there were a few exceptions to that, and Tom Brady was one of them.

“They’re more anxious to learn fundamentally the right way and they really embrace it,” Belichick said of college players, via Brad Crawford of CBS Sports. “That’s not always the case in the NFL. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. (Tom) Brady was always willing and open to learn. Other guys were more set in their ways because they had success doing it a certain way in high school and college.”

Of course, Belichick dodged any questions about his 24-year-old girlfriend Jordan Hudson.

With college players now able to make money in the NIL era, many believe college football will become an extension of the NFL. Based on what Belichick said, that has not been the case in his first several months at Chapel Hill.

Belichick is widely considered to be the greatest NFL coach of all time. There has been some skepticism about how his experience will translate to college, but he seems to be enjoying it thus far.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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