After decades in the NFL, coach Bill Belichick is headed back to school.
Belichick—an eight-time Super Bowl champion between his work as an assistant and head coach—stunned the football world by taking North Carolina's coaching job on Dec. 11. The legendary boss will be tasked with turning around a program that has sputtered since reaching the Orange Bowl in 2020.
Seemingly everyone has an opinion on how Belichick will fare with the Tar Heels, but few have had the up-close and personal view former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski has had of Belichick's style. In a Wednesday conversation with Sports Illustrated on behalf of Bounty, Gronkowski addressed how the coach would approach his new gig.
"Coach Belichick loves coaching players. And at that level, players are more raw because they haven't been coached through the college ranks, they're coming out of high school," Gronkowski said. "They're younger, so Coach Belichick can have a field day coaching these guys, because there's so much more to coach—because they're younger and they haven't been through the whole car wash yet to develop as a complete player. He's going to enjoy that process."
Belichick's arrival in Chapel Hill, N.C. has already drawn plenty of comment—and figures to remain a hot topic right up until North Carolina's season kicks off on Sept. 1 against TCU.
"It's a lot more thrilling as well for college football programs, because Coach Belichick, he's bringing a whole different perspective to the college ranks—and it's going to be a lot of fun to watch and see if he has success or not, and I'm pretty sure he will," Gronkowski said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rob Gronkowski Identifies One Part of College Coaching Bill Belichick Will Enjoy .
