Bill Belichick and North Carolina have a believer in Colorado coach Deion Sanders

New North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick won't have quite as difficult a job rebuilding the program in Chapel Hill that Deion Sanders did in Boulder. At UNC, Belichick is inheriting a team that has won at least 8 games in three of the past five seasons.

At Colorado, Deion Sanders took over a program in the gutters of college football and rebuilt a powerhouse in just a few years. Still, with a $10 million per year contract, the Tar Heels expect Belichick to take this team to the top of college football — and Deion himself believes Belichick can do it.

Deion Sanders often gets an unfair rap for being selfish, self-serving or only caring about his own personal goals. I've never understood that notion. Sanders isn't afraid to show love, like he did here to Belichick and Nick Saban, and he outwardly cares for and defends his players as well as any NCAA coach.

Whether or not Sanders is right about this being a great thing for North Carolina, though, remains to be seen.

Can Bill Belichick appeal to college players in 2025?

That might be the biggest question facing Belichick as he takes over the Tar Heels. Does the respect he garnered from NFL players for over 20 years translate to a group of college kids? Will his actual play calling and coaching strategy translate from the AFC East to the ACC?

No one will disagree that Belichick is a coaching legend. But in the modern era of college football, it's not a guarantee that he'll be able to get buy in from a team full of 18 to 21 year-olds.

Deion Sanders rebuilt the Colorado football program from the ground up essentially overnight. Bill Belichick doesn't need to do quite as much heavy lifting at UNC, but he'll still try to give the program a facelift.