Patriots Bill Belichick, UNC reportedly to be featured on ‘Hard Knocks: Offseason’ NFL Films and HBO reportedly couldn’t find an NFL team willing to participate this year. Bill Belichick is entering his first season in North Carolina. AP Photo/Ben McKeown
Bill Belichick’s career-long evasion of Hard Knocks will reportedly come to an end this year.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Belichick and his University of North Carolina football program are set to appear on the show in 2025.
BREAKING: Bill Belichick and UNC will be featured on Offseason Hard Knocks after NFL Films could not find an NFL team to do it after the Joe Schoen debacle last year, sources tell @FOS — Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) February 28, 2025
UNC will be featured on an offseason edition of the television series produced by NFL Films and HBO. Hard Knocks: Offseason debuted last year, following the New York Giants.
The production companies have been unable to find an NFL team willing to participate in the show after what came of the Giants’ appearance.
Last year, Hard Knocks included footage of New York general manager Joe Schoen on the phone with former Giants and then-free agent running back Saquon Barkley’s agent. Schoen was seen explaining that New York wasn’t going to be able to match Barkley’s party’s contract offer of $12.5 million per year.
Advertisement:
Barkley ultimately landed with the Giants’ division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. He recorded one of the best regular seasons by an RB in league history and went on to win Super Bowl LIX.
Keith Crossrow, NFL Films’ vice president, told Pat McAfee about the fact that they were struggling to secure a team to continue the Hard Knocks: Offseason series last month.
“There’s definitely a chance. We hope it’s back. We’re talking to a bunch of teams about it. But we’ll see what happens,” Crossrow said. “I mean, we need a willing participant on that one. We’re not going to force someone to do that show.”
Advertisement:
Crossrow had acknowledged that the offseason series could have ended up being a one-and-done scenario.
Enter the 72-year-old Belichick in Chapel Hill to save the day.
It’s a surprising turn of events for both the NFL and Belichick regarding Hard Knocks. If he were still coaching in New England, it’s hard to imagine he would have allowed those cameras anywhere near Foxborough.
Thus, if UNC does appear on the show, it will be fascinating to watch. It should also answer these compelling questions on an entirely different level than previously thought possible:
Will Belichick tone down his famously tough coaching style in a collegiate setting?
Given that he missed this past season as a coach, will he be rusty during practices? Or will he look like his past Patriots self?
How will Belichick’s players respond to him?
Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants consisted of five episodes, with the first one airing on July 2, 2024. If the 2025 edition of the series follows suit, fans will be able to watch Belichick prepare himself and his UNC team for the upcoming season in roughly five months.