Bill Belichick, North Carolina met in NYC for second interview

Maybe North Carolina’s interest in Bill Belichick — and, perhaps more importantly, Belichick’s interest in the Tar Heels — wasn’t fleeting after all.

Belichick, who parted ways with the Patriots in January after 24 seasons as their head coach and has spent the current campaign working a variety of media jobs, met with people from the university a second time Thursday in Manhattan, according to CBS Sports.

It’s unclear if that served as one of the “multiple meetings” from the initial reports Thursday about Belichick interviewing with the Tar Heels, but the former Patriots coach and 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson attended The Museum Gala in New York City and made their red carpet debut that same day.

While an ESPN report Saturday cautioned that this could still be “unlikely” despite being something Belichick has “seriously considered,” The Athletic added that there’s an expectation the 72-year-old could accept the position if North Carolina offered it to him.

One CBS Sports source told the outlet that Belichick has “literally been open to all of it.”

“It signals to NFL teams ‘I have a lot of energy,’” an anonymous UNC source told CBS Sports. “’That I’m not ready to shut it down.’”

Belichick emerged as a surprising option for the Tar Heels’ search to fill their vacancy, which became open on Nov. 26 when they fired Mack Brown — the winningest head coach in program history.

His name has swirled in head coaching rumors dating back to his Patriots exit, both when positions opened up after firings and even when considering potential vacancies following the 2024 NFL season.

But Belichick didn’t land a job last cycle, and that’s why he ended up filling his schedule with appearances on the “Pat McAfee Show,” the “ManningCast” and “Inside the NFL,” among others.

That could be why, according to multiple reports, he has a genuine interest in the North Carolina vacancy, aligning with reports that trickled out throughout the year that Belichick wanted to return to coaching and countering the one that posed his blossoming relationship with Hudson — the couple have reportedly been together for at least a year — could cause him to hesitate before taking another coaching job.

The Tar Heels went 6-6 this season, and they opted to move on from Brown before the season finale despite the coach expressing his desire to stay through the end of the campaign.