Tom Brady still needs some time to process Bill Belichick's shocking move to join the college ranks as head coach of the North Carolina State football team last week.
In calling Sunday's game between the Eagles and the Steelers in Pennsylvania, Brady, who won six Super Bowls with Belichick over 20 seasons in New England, said the 72-year-old coach's decision to lead the Tar Heels after a nearly 50-year coaching career talked about. He was a surprise in the NFL.
“When I heard the news, I was a little surprised,” Brady, 46, told Fox play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt.
“I didn't think that was the opportunity he was going for, but they obviously got a great coach and he's going to be in the same locker room with him for years… They play very hard. He's going to do it.'' We're going to have the best coach in NFL history and now we're at the college level, so it's a huge benefit for every player that comes into that program.''
It's been a turbulent week for Belichick, with UNC surprising the sports world Wednesday by announcing Belichick as its new head coach.
The eight-time Super Bowl champion was formally introduced in Chapel Hill on Thursday and insisted in his first press conference that he's here to stay.
“I didn't come here to leave,” Belichick said.
The legendary coach had a long-standing connection to the Tar Heels, as his father, Steve, served as an assistant from 1953 to 1955.
“I always wanted to coach in college football, and that just never worked out. I had a good year in the NFL, so that was fine, but this is truly a dream come true. I grew up playing college football with my dad, who has been involved in college football for 50 years. College football was all I knew. It's great to be back in Carolina, where I grew up. ,” Belichick said Thursday.
Sources confirmed to The Post's Brian Costello that Belichick had inquired about the Jets' head coaching vacancy following the firing of Robert Saleh in October.
Belichick famously resigned as the Jets' head coach in 2000 and, along with Brady under center, tormented a championship-hungry team for decades.
The future Hall of Fame quarterback, who himself is in the midst of a professional restructuring as a rookie NFL analyst, then joked about the recruiting process.
“He's not the warmest and most fuzzy guy ever,” Brady said Sunday.
Brady left Belichick and the Patriots to join the Buccaneers after the 2019 season and won his seventh and final Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in February 2021.
He retired in 2023 after 23 prolific seasons.
