Rob Gronkowski believes Bill Belichick can have the ‘Deion Sanders effect’ at North Carolina after shocking the college football world and becoming the school’s head coach.
Belichick, 72, has begun leading a college program for the first time after parting ways with the Patriots in January 2024, following 24 seasons and six Super Bowls with the franchise.
And with the legendary coach gearing up for the start of the Tar Heels’ season in the fall, he received a massive vote of confidence from his former tight end Rob Gronkowski.
‘I think Coach will do great,’ he said at Fox Sports’ Super Bowl media day on Thursday. ‘What he’s really gonna excel at is being able to develop his players. You know, they’re gonna be really raw. When he gets a player out of college, they got a lot more experience than coming out of high school, so he’s going to be able to develop guys like he’s never been able to develop in his life.
‘So it’s kind of a new experience for him. So he’s going to excel there, I truly believe. And there’s going to be a lot of guys that come out of that program that are going to be NFL- ready, because he’s going to have NFL schemes and NFL training with the North Carolina Tar Heels. And on top of that, I think he’s gonna win as well. Who doesn’t want to go play for him, who doesn’t want to learn from Coach Belichick and his staff?’
Gronkowski went on to compare Belichick to Colorado coach Sanders, who has turned around the Buffaloes and attracted top-level talent to the program.
Bill Belichick recently accepted the head coaching job for the North Carolina Tar Heels
And his former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has backed him to succeed at the school
Gronkowski said Belichick could have the same effect as Deion Sanders at Colorado
His son, Shedeur Sanders, will likely be a top-five NFL Draft pick after excelling at the school, while Travis Hunter may go even earlier after winning the Heisman Trophy.
Belichick, meanwhile, has parlayed around the hype around North Carolina into an improved recruiting class for the school, up to No. 48 in ESPN’s rankings from outside the top 75 in November.
‘And it’s so much more intriguing as well for college football,’ Gronkowski continued. ‘I’m interested in UNC. Last year, I ain’t interested in UNC. I didn’t even know [Patriots quarterback] Drake Maye came out of UNC until he got drafted to the to the Patriots. So it’s gonna be awesome.
‘He’s kind of gonna have the Deion Sanders effect, but Bill Belichick style, you know what I mean by that. So I definitely see that happening. And it might take him a year, but I think he’s going to be able to pick it up and dominate eventually.’
After agreeing to join the school in December, Belichick officially signed his UNC contract late last month.
The move came after Belichick failed to land a head coaching job in last year’s hiring cycle, as he only interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons.
Following his agreement to join the Tar Heels, Belichick was contacted by several NFL teams to gauge his interest in performing a stunning U-turn back to the pros.
That list reportedly included the Raiders – of which Tom Brady is a minority owner – though Belichick did not entertain those overtures according to The Athletic’s Diana Russini.
The Raiders ultimately landed on Pete Carroll as the team’s next head coach.
