North Carolina's hiring of Bill Belichick was the stunner of the college football year. Here's how the Tar Heels pulled it off.

Belichick first sent word of his interest in the UNC job through political allies. He reached out to a longtime friend, then-Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who then contacted Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, hoping to light a fire in Chapel Hill in support of Belichick.

Bill Belichick made the biggest splash by far in college football’s coaching carousel this offseason, but he may not have been North Carolina’s first choice to