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North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham had a surprise for the man just hired to guide his football program.
In an ode to his new coach’s sleeveless hoodie fashion while in New England that spawned a nickname, Cunningham showed off a blazer with cut-off sleeves. It felt like Cunningham’s very public embrace of new UNC head coach Bill Belichick, who agreed to a 5-year, $50 million deal in a decision that stunned both the NFL and college football ranks.
Yet multiple sources told CBS Sports throughout the coaching search and in its aftermath that Belichick was not Cunningham’s preferred target. The UNC AD preferred to go younger after he fired 73-year old Mack Brown following a 44-33 record in six seasons in Chapel Hill. It was Brown’s second stint leading the UNC program after a successful run 1988-97 that included six bowl appearances.
And while the 72-year old Belichick is technically younger, the initial plan was to find someone akin to 34-year old Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who has orchestrated an incredible overhaul in two years in Tempe to guide the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff this season. Cunningham initially zeroed in on Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall and Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell as his top two candidates, according to sources, and wanted to talk to both after their respective teams played in conference championship games last week.
In his initial public comments about the coaching search, Cunningham said “all the coaches we’re talking to right now are playing, and so they’re continuing to be in championship games or in the playoffs.”
How’d Belichick end up as the guy, then?
“It was a fractured search,” one source familiar with the search told CBS Sports. “No one was on the same…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/inside-north-carolinas-fractured-coaching-search-that-ended-with-bill-belichick/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2024-12-13 18:31:00
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