UNC students, fans react to possible Bill Belichick hire: 'It's just cool'

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Tar Heel football fans continue to await major news that could shape the football program for years to come.

NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick -- who won eight Super Bowls, including six as head coach of the New England Patriots -- has been linked to University of North Carolina football for several days, confirming in an interview with ESPN's Pat McAfee on Monday that he spoke at length with UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts about the opening.

UNC football fans, meantime, say that they have mixed feelings about the potential hire -- noting the authority and buzz that someone of Belichick's stature would bring to the program but wondering about the fit.

"It's just cool to get some more attention to the football program here," said UNC junior Colin Chen.

Chen acknowledged it was a tough year for football fans on campus but he's still hopeful about what's next following the school's decision to fire Mack Brown.

"It was tough, you could definitely see it on campus that less people were going to football games. But we tried to stay excited every game. There's hope," he said.

Chen's one of the countless students and supporters now playing the waiting game as reports swirl of a possible deal between the two sides.

"I would be super excited if he came," he said. "Do I think he'll be a great college coach? I don't know. But I think having the name Bill Belichick at our school would be really awesome to get recruits."

Belichick spoke publicly about the rumors on McAfee's show on Monday afternoon.

"I've had the opportunity to talk to Chancellor Roberts, and we've had a couple of good conversations, so we'll see how it goes," he said.

Meantime, Chen isn't alone in wondering about the potential fit for Belichick in the modern college game.

"NIL makes being a college athletic coach entirely different than it used to be. I don't know what it means," said Lee Folger, a Chapel Hill native and lifelong Tar Heel fan.

Folger said he's enjoyed the buzz generated by the Belichick-to-Chapel-Hill reports but cautioned there may be similarities to the Brown-run program which the school just moved on from.

"With Mack, it made more sense because there was a past connection, he had success at the college level," he said. "I like Belichick, obviously he's a proven winner. But, he's what, in his 70s? And college football is only getting younger and changing."