Michael Lombardi, Belichick’s newly appointed general manager at UNC, was with Belichick as a front office executive in both Cleveland and New England.

With college teams now able to spend fortunes on players, the legendary coach is making the leap at a time when the game more closely resembles the NFL than ever before.

North Carolina made the first move in the coaching carousel among Power Four teams when it fired Mack Brown in late November. The Tar Heels also made the biggest splash by replacing him with legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick.