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Legnedary NFL head coach Bill Belichick was part of a press conference on Thursday to announce that he has been named the new head coach of North Carolina Tar Heels. The announcement marked the conclusion of a wild week-long news cycle after Belichick shocked the football world by interviewing for the position a week ago.
While nobody seems to have a strong grasp on how they belief Belichick will do at the college level — after all, his entire 49-year coaching career has been at the professional level — the new UNC head coach did answer some questions about how he’ll handle things on Thursday.
Belichick talked about the role for new program “GM” Mike Lombardi, as well as his approach to recruiting and how long he plans to stick around. But perhaps most notable was his answer about an important aspect of recruiting: in-home recruiting visits.
Will Bill Belichick make in-home recruiting visits?
“I’d love to do that. … Absolutely.”
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 12, 2024
Now, with advent of the early signing period and the shift in the recruiting calendar, in-home visits are less important than ever before. But they do still exist! And they were once the more important single day of a player’s recruitment. Coaches would come into high school players’ homes, meet their family and friends and sell them on why their program was the best option for that player.
If you could be the last coach to go in home, it was even better. Take, for example, legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban doing the cupid shuffle with a recruit’s family while on an in-home visit. Ultimately, Saban’s dance moves works because he did secure the commitment of three-star safety Eddie Smith, who later transferred out of the program.
But for as crazy as it was to see Saban dancing in a living room, can you imagine Bill Belichick doing that?! Or Belichick having to learn how to play Spades.
Recruiting has changed a ton. So it’s not likely Belichick well ever have to go in-home for a visit. But we’d sure like to see it.