Head coach Bill Belichick signed a contract with the North Carolina Tar Heels on Jan. 22 after more than a month of verbal agreement between both parties. Now that it’s official, Belichick is getting started on his college career,

When news broke that Bill Belichick would be the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, questions about the program’s direction grew exponentially. Speculation has been rife about how the legendary coach would handle the introduction of NIL deals in college football.

Belichick, 72, was hired as Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown's replacement after the Tar Heels finished the season at 6-7 with a bowl loss to UConn. Brown, the winningest coach in program history, led UNC to six straight bowl appearances in six seasons.

Outside of the Lombardi family, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has hired former Browns coach Freddie Kitchens (offensive coordinator), son Steve (defensive coordinator), former CFL coach Chris Jones (defensive assistant), Billy Miller (general position assistant) and Moses Cabrera (strength and conditioning).

Bill Belichick's general manager at North Carolina is not happy with a report that he says is erroneous. On Monday, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio

Some higher-ups in college football were reportedly worried about Belichick taking his time to fill out his staff at UNC.

But to combat the rumors, UNC general manager Michael Lombardi appeared ... Lombardi asserted that Belichick is right where he wants to be. "I was with Bill every day during the fall," Lombardi ...

Bill Belichick was a surprising hire by the North Carolina Tar Heels in December, but he has been making a strong effort to turn the program around by recruiting aggressively and assembling an experienced staff.

Among the challenges of rebuilding North Carolina's roster, Belichick faces arguably the tallest task of adjusting to the recruiting trail rather than relying on the NFL draft. In an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday, Belichick was asked about his recruiting pitch to recruits as he pieces together his first class with the Tar Heels.

Bill Belichick 's head-coaching debut with the University of North Carolina is going to get some big-time TV attention. So much so, that the game against TCU has been moved from its originally scheduled slot (on Saturday Aug. 30) to Monday night, Sept. 1, and will have a standalone time slot on ESPN.

Speculation that Bill Belichick might return to the NFL will have a littler more difficulty gaining traction now.