Tar Heel Belichick? (Hour 1)

Alrighty, live from the play show yet not overly ostentatious studios of the Infinity Sports Network here in beautiful New York City sitting on top of the 10th floor, 345 Hudson Street.

Welcome on in to what is a very busy and really a big Wednesday edition of the Zach Yelp show across all the great local Infinity Sports Network affiliates, Sirius XM, Channel 158, the Free Odyssey app, and of course streaming live on YouTube. 855212, 4227 is the number to jump on in. That's 855212.

855212, 4227. You can always get at me on Instagram where I'm straight flexing or via the good old cesspool of Twitter X at Zach Gelb. That's Z-A-C-H-G-E-L-B. I got Stu Kovacs. I got Ryan Botcher here. We are rocking and rolling all the way up until 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific time. The head football coach at Army, Jeff Monken is going to stop by. 20 minutes from now, Ryan Hickey in studio at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific time.

And also, Xavier Gilry of the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Big 12 champs, he's going to stop by at 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Pacific today. So, a whole lot to do. It's been a really crazy and hectic day here behind the scenes. I'm not going to tell you what award I did win. I'll say that later, but I did win an award and I had to get in here today. I usually try to get into the office by 1 p.m. Eastern, 1.30 p.m. Eastern, somewhere in that time frame. I had to get into the office at 11.15 a.m. Eastern time and I take a lot of photos.

A lot of people thought I was either coming from a funeral or I was going to a job interview because I had a sports coat on, a dress shirt on, then I had to have another dress shirt on, then I had to wear this colored shirt. And we are rocking and rolling right here on the Zach Gelb show. So, while I was taking some of these photos, I glanced at my phone and I saw from inside Carolina, UNC is finalizing deal to land Bill Belichick as the new head football coach. Then, in the last 20 minutes, Jonathan Jones, NFL and CBS insider, North Carolina is nearing a deal to make Bill Belichick its next head coach. Shorts to tell NFL on CBS, nothing has been finalized, but there's a growing sentiment within UNC. That the deal is done. Adam Schefter of the ESPN, North Carolina is working to try to close the deal with Bill Belichick to make the six-time Super Bowl champion, the Tar Heels coach, but sources told ESPN there are still issues that both sides need to work through. Pete Campbell is in on that reporting as well and Chris Lowe.

Here's where we're at right now. Barring Belichick leaving UNC at the altar, which we've seen him do before. Many years ago, he was the jet coach.

I resigned as HC of the NYJ, and then he became the greatest NFL coach, arguably the greatest NFL coach of all time, and went on a run of two decades of excellence, winning six Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots. And we've seen this before. Well, Beryl is as great of a coach that he is.

He could also be a jerk at times. So, is there any alternative motive here? I thought at first, most of us were kind of of the thinking, oh, Bill's using UNC, where he's interested because of maybe the family dynamic of it, and I don't know if his son, Steve Belichick, is definitely going to be his DC, and then Steve Belichick's going to be the coach in waiting at UNC. But all those things have kind of been talked about.

We have dissected that the last few days. But at first, I think the majority sentiment was, okay, Bill's using UNC, where he would be interested and he would take the UNC job, but he's going to send out a little signal to the NFL. This is your last chance to talk to my people behind the scenes and say, hey, Bill, maybe you should rethink going to UNC. Hey, Bill, maybe you shouldn't go to UNC, because I don't know, I'm Shad Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Just wait a few weeks. Wink, wink. We'll make you the head football coach.

And I guess none of that has happened. And Bill is someone, because I do believe there's a lot of people that will say, Bill, you're 72. Bill, you've won six Super Bowls. Bill, why are you going to go to college? Isn't college beneath Bill Belichick? Well, if you're saying that, I don't think you really know Bill Belichick. And I've said this this week, and I'll say it again, if let's say Bill didn't get UNC right in a room and talk to him, and let's say no college job ever materialized, and let's say when the Giants open if they do, the Jaguars, you know, the Saints who are already open. We know he wouldn't go to the Jets. We know the Bears are too cheap to hire Bill Belichick. But let's say that another cycle happened in the NFL and Bill was shut out. You want to know where Bill's going to be coaching because Bill's addicted to college? He'd be coaching like at Foxborough High or somewhere. I really do believe Bill Belichick, if he didn't get an NFL job this cycle, if no college job ever materialized, that he would go coach in high school. Because there's your certain coaches that just absolutely positively are addicted to this, and it doesn't matter how many times they win, it doesn't matter how much success they've had, and they'll be recognized in the annals of football history as one of the greatest coaches of all time. This is just what they do, and this is all that they know how to do.

Even if it sacrifices relationships with family members and significant others, it doesn't matter. Bill is a lifer, and nothing gets Bill going like coaching football. So I look at this move and now it's not, hey, is it going to happen?

It's just going to be what time today or what time tomorrow are we going to get the announcement from UNC or Schefter or Rappaport or inside, like whatever the site is that's going to say this is done. But I think most of us realize in the last 24 to 48 hours that this wasn't something that Bill was just throwing out there. And this wasn't only something that Bill was using to try to gain leverage in the NFL. Bill was serious about this.

And yes, there was maybe some last-ditch efforts that he was hoping was going to happen, and I guess none of it happened. And that's another part of this dynamic, because I'm going to defend Bill Belichick here. I think sometimes we're prisoners of the moment, and some guy could go have over a two-decade run where everyone was afraid of him and everyone said he is king.

And then it gets ugly at the end, and we let what happens at the end change our opinion on that person. You know, if you think Bill Belichick can't win without Tom Brady, yeah, out of your mind. And this is coming from someone who hates the Belichick versus Brady conversation. I hate it.

I despise it. Outside of Jordan up against LeBron, my least favorite talking point is Brady up against Belichick. And I'm even someone for years that said, Tom's more important than Bill. Because even though Bill is really important, even Bill says when he wins championships, it's all about the players. You know, it's all about the players. Players win championships, coaches just lose them. That's what Bill says. But this idea, just because Brady won without Belichick in Tampa Bay, that Bill is some bum, is ridiculous.

It is. The guy won a playoff game with the Cleveland Browns, right, when he was the coach with the Browns. Bill Belichick had an 11-win season with Matt Cassel. Bill Belichick had Mack frickin' Jones, who sucks in the pros, in a playoff game year one. So would Bill have won a Super Bowl as a head coach without Brady? That I don't know. Right?

I don't. Could he have found another quarterback? Yeah, I think he could have. But Brady wouldn't have won six Super Bowls in New England without Bill. And Bill wouldn't have won six Super Bowls in New England without Tom. But this idea that people go, oh, Bill would never be able to get another head coaching job in the NFL. And if he does, it would be a disaster. And the fact that there are other NFL owners that listen to that, shame on them.

And you know what? Shame on you, Arthur Blank, today. You could have had Bill freaking Belichick this offseason, but Arthur Blank acted like a coward because he wanted to hire Bill Belichick.

But the people that he works with were like, oh, I'm afraid I'm going to lose my job. So we're just going to damage the reputation of Bill Belichick, which is just ridiculous. So go enjoy Raheem Morris. Go enjoy your quarterback situation right now, which is not a good one where you paid a king's ransom to get Kirk Cousins and you also drafted Michael Penix Jr. And there's a chance now the Atlanta Falcons, who a few weeks ago were shoeing to win the NFC South.

They don't even win the NFC South. So go look at that worked out for Atlanta by passing up on Bill Belichick. You know, because I'll tell you this, Bill Belichick will do something that, hey, Arthur Smith couldn't do and Raheem Morris couldn't do.

And that's, I don't know, use a talent like Bijan Robinson the right way. So shame on Arthur Blank and also shame on guys like Shad Khan or whoever else is in the NFL right now that knows they're going to hire a coach in a few weeks and that they didn't call Bill and say, hey, Bill, we're really interested in you. And this idea that Bill's going to be a failure in college based off what? Like, I know he's never coached in college, but he's Bill Belichick.

And what do we do? We sat here for the last two years and I've given universal praise to Coach Prime and Deion Sanders. And people now say and I'll tell you why I'm bringing up Deion Sanders in just a second. People now say, oh, well, Bill's not going to love recruiting. Bill's not going to recruit. No, Bill's going to sit in his office. He's going to hire a team that does all the recruiting trips. And then when you go make a visit to Chapel Hill, that's when you'll go sit next to Bill Belichick and talk to Bill Belichick. And where else does that happen? Oh, I don't know.

Boulder, Colorado. Have we ever seen a photo of Coach Prime on a jet going to some kid's some kid's living room? No, the kids go to Coach Prime. And even Deion has admitted that. So this idea that because Bill won't be actively recruiting and who knows if he will or won't. Like, I do believe that Bill's going to hire a team to do the majority of the recruiting. But can I see Bill getting so addicted where he's like, I want to prove everybody wrong that he's going to go get in a private jet to go talk to a recruit?

Yeah, I think so. And I was just talking to Channing Crowder about 15 minutes ago. And I said to Channing, like, you may think Bill's a jerk. You may think Bill's a bad dude. But would you want your son to go play for Bill if your goal is to have your son be the NFL? He's like, absolutely. He's like, I used to say about Nick Saban in Alabama, like, yeah, Nick Saban at times could be a turd. This is what Channing said.

Not necessarily all that wrong. But he knows he's going to get great coaching. And I think that's very important. And Bill won't be for everybody. He won't.

Just like how Coach Prime isn't for everybody. But, you know, when you go to Colorado, you know, if this happens and it looks like it is going to happen, that Bill Belichick, if you go to Chapel Hill, you're going to get great coaching. You're going to get coaching at a professional level in college that gets you ready for the NFL. Now, am I going to sit here and say that Bill is definitely going to win an ACC championship?

No, I'm not. Does he have a chance to maybe win an ACC championship? Yeah. The ACC is not this big force. You know, Clemson and Dabo Swinney, they're still the standard. You know, you look at Miami, they had a good season. Last year, Florida State had a good season.

Can you replicate it? You know, Pitt with Narduzzi, they always have a solid team. SMU, congratulations.

Right? Making the college football playoff, even though Clemson won the ACC championship game. So the ACC is good, but it's not as if Bill Belichick, with Mac Brown, who's a college football legend, and that program that he took over at the end with Larry Fedor, it was very ugly.

And I know the transfer portal, name it if you like this, and programs change very quickly. But it's not like the program that Bill's taken over is his miserable spot. Like, Bill Belichick, I can confidently say without even knowing what his roster will look like or what his coaching staff will look like, he'll be able, just on his coaching alone, to be bowl eligible, six wins in year one at UNC. And I don't know how long he's going to do this.

He's 72, he turns 73 in a little bit. You know, maybe it's three, four years, and then he hands it over to his son, Steve Belichick. You know, that's what it seems like this is going to be. But this idea that people are so adamant and they're so skeptical and they're like, oh, this is a terrible move for Bill. Yeah, I'd rather see Bill in the NFL as well.

But it may be humiliating as people may view it. I don't think Bill cares about that. Bill has never cared about what you or what I have thought. Bill wants to coach. And when Bill Belichick coaches and he has a chip on his shoulder, he does a pretty damn good job. And I think Bill Belichick, depending on how you view success, if you think he's winning a national championship at UNC, then you're a dope.

All right. That's not a fair expectation. But can Bill go be a seven, eight win consistent team? Yeah, I think he can. You know, can he go be in an ACC championship one year? Yeah, I think he can, depending on how long he wants to do it.

And depending on what talent he scouts and the guys that his recruiters bring in, you know, I think he can. So anyone sitting here that says this is going to be an unmitigated disaster based off what? Just your hatred on Bill because he tortured your NFL team for 20 years? Because that's what it seems like. Or you just don't like him, right?

That's what it seems like. I'm not saying there isn't a risk. And hey, you could argue at UNC. Zach, if you just said Bill's going to be winning seven, eight games a year, then why did they get rid of Mac Brown?

Totally fair argument. But UNC got rid of Mac Brown. They tried to get Summerall from Tulane. That didn't happen. And then Bill called him and Bill wanted the job.

And that was the moment when I thought that this thing had legs and that this was more realistic than I thought. When we even had Cole Kublick on the other day and we were talking about this, I said, if it's not Bill, where does UNC go? And Cole Kublick is as plugged in and watches more college football than anybody.

And he basically didn't have an answer of a name. So that shows and Cole talks to a lot of people that once UNC, and I thought there was going to be some dope, some board of trustee member that was going to sit there and he was going to prevent this because he didn't want Bill to basically tell him what to do with that 400 page manifesto that he sent them and how he'd run his program. I thought maybe some people at UNC would say, nah, we don't want to do this. But it seems like UNC is just as interested in Bill Belichick as Bill Belichick is as interested in UNC. So I guess we are in the stage now where they will cross all the T's, they will dot all the I's and Bill Belichick, who would have ever thought that? If you would have told me a month and a half ago, if you would have called me up at 855-212-4227 and you would have said, Bill Belichick, you know, I got a crazy idea. Bill Belichick at UNC.

I wonder how long it would have taken me to laugh you off the phone. Seriously. I would have never thought that would have been a possibility. Even when we first heard about it, I thought Bill was using UNC.

But the way that this has continued to go on the last like day or two, I'm like, oh, this is going to happen. So shame on the NFL for not getting Bill back in the NFL. And also, if you're Bill, it's an interesting move.

It creates intrigue. It puts UNC in more of the national spotlight. And I think Bill could be successful at UNC with the way that I view success of, you know, I think he could go get seven, eight wins a year, consistently be bowl eligible. You know, I don't think it's crazy to say that one day Bill could be coaching in an ACC championship game. But if you call me and say, oh, Zach, Bill will never win a national championship at UNC. Well, yeah, no bleep, Sherlock.

Like, that's not the expectation for anybody. So assuming this gets done, what do you think about Bill Belichick looking like he's going to UNC? Take a time out. Jeff Monk and the head football coach of Army is going to join us next. Army Navy coming up on Saturday. We will be live in D.C. on Friday broadcasting from USA Army Navy Radio Row. It is the Zach Gelb show right here on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show already. Welcome back in.

It is Zach Gelb show coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We know Army has won the American Athletic Conference. We're going to be heading down to D.C. We'll be doing our show live Friday from USA Army Navy Radio Row. Then you have the big game between Army and Navy on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. And now joining us is head football coach at Army.

And that, of course, is coach Jeff Monk and coach. Congratulations. Appreciate the time. And how you been?

Great. Appreciate the opportunity to be on with you. So what does it mean to you now having a few days to process it, knowing you were able to deliver Army an American Athletic Conference championship? I'm just so proud of our team, proud of the players and the coaches and the effort that everybody put into that. But playing in a conference championship game is intense.

It's emotional. There's it's exciting that the opportunity to win a championship. And for so many years here, we've been an independent football team and really have played for the commander in chief's trophy, which is a championship for us. And and frankly, there is no championship that that equals the CIC championship for us.

But that was really exciting. Our guys have played really well and and they just played a particularly good game on Friday night against what I thought was a great team. Tulane Tulane's got an excellent football team.

Yeah, I went to Temple. So I have a few American Athletic Conference roots. But I know when you first got there right in 2014, 2015, you guys had six total wins those first two years.

Now you're sitting there 11 and one. You know, you could have 13 by the end of this football season. There's been some good moments. There's been some moments of resiliency. And you guys keep on getting off the mat and having consistent seasons.

Just how do you look back at the earlier days to now with what you've been able to do with the program? Those were all building blocks. So those were those were foundational pieces that that needed to be put into place in order for us to get where we wanted to as a program. And those first two teams, I give those guys a lot of credit. They suffered through some really difficult afternoons disappointments. But, man, they worked hard. And the thing about the guys in this program, they always answered the bell. And I've pushed them and I've demanded a lot about a lot out of the people in this program, particularly our players.

But they've always answered a bell. And those first two teams, though the records didn't show the results we'd hoped for. I could tell that there was growth and improvement going on in our program. And then by the third year, we made a bowl game and won a bowl game and and went on a really good run.

And but it was all built off of those those first teams. And I I've been so proud of our team to be able to continue that. The guys in our program to be able to continue the success because it's hard to win and it's hard to continue to win to sustain success.

It's very challenging. But our guys have managed to do that at a pretty good level here. People knew you guys were going to be a good team entering this season. I don't know if people thought you guys would be 11 and one at this stage. What type of team?

Just curious. Coach Jeff Monken, did you think you had when you go back to the summer? I really liked our team.

I thought the building blocks for this season started last November. There was a there was a determination in our team and we had really good leadership in our locker room a year ago. We had strong captains. We lost some tough games through the middle of the season last year.

And our guys never wavered. And we won the first weekend in November over Air Force. And we won the rest of the games that year recaptured the commander cheese trophy, which is a huge source of pride for our team. And then carried into the offseason and really felt like in the offseason there was a determination and a confidence that we could be better. And in our senior class, man, just what a great group of guys and what terrific leaders we've got in that class. And that carried into the to the spring spring practice, the summer workouts, preseason camp.

And by that time, I felt like we had a chance to at least be competitive with all the teams we were going to play. It's a really strong offensive line. I think everybody on our staff really felt like we had a good offensive line. As it turns out, I think this is the best offensive line on any team I've ever been a part of.

They're really good and really tough. And and they've paved the way for our offense, certainly. But defensively, the way that those guys continue to come up with plays and we're not particularly talented, just those guys play really well together and they play really hard.

And so we put it all together. We managed to win a lot of games there in a row. We had a setback against Notre Dame who's got a great football team.

Holy smokes, are they good? But our guys didn't they didn't flinch. We didn't let it derail us. They came back the next week and beat a really tough UTSA team, won the game on Friday night.

And now we sit here just a few days away from the biggest game of the year. That Jeremiah love of Notre Dame. Quite some player, right, coach? He's he's a great player and he's not the only one that's a great player on that team.

They got a whole bunch of them. And you have a great player as well in Bryson Daly. We got a chance to talk with him on the show about a month and a half ago. Thirty seven total touchdowns this year. Unbelievable player and an unbelievable person. Just what makes your quarterback so special?

One, he's a tremendous leader. I grew up a coach's kid. His grandfather was a coach. His mom was a coach.

Dad is a coach. Just grew up in that life and I think really appreciates and values being a part of a team and how he can contribute to the team. So he's a great leader from that standpoint, very unselfish and very humble, but he's also very demanding of the other people around him. He's strong and rugged and tough. And and we've seen everybody watched him play all year. And just what he's done is the quarterback for our for our team. He's had a tremendous football season. But all of the other things that he brings that you want a quarterback to have in the locker room, in the huddle, in workouts.

He's all those things, too. So I think that just that that compels everybody else on our team to want to do better and to fight harder and to play their bet. Excuse me, to play their best. And he told me that his family, no military background, and he didn't know if he was going to go to army. And then he fell in love with the place when he came on his visit. You know, obviously this isn't for everyone. It takes a different commitment to commit to your program and you have to be a special person. Were you surprised when he ended up saying, hey, coach, this is the road that I want to travel and I want to be a part of this program?

I don't know that I'm ever surprised that a guy says that. I think there are there are young men and women all over this country who have a spirit to serve. And sometimes they don't realize that that that that burns inside of them. They they sometimes just need an invitation and say, let me let me let me show you what you can do with the spirit and the leadership skills that you have. And I think that that opportunity to serve others appeals to some people. And I think the opportunity here to be challenged, to lead, to to know that that they're going to be in a leadership position when they graduate and have an opportunity to be something to be a part of something that's that's bigger than themselves.

Something is really special in a way that will be a source of pride for them and for their family. And some guys just that appeals to them. And we never know who those guys are going to be as we enter this place to prospects.

But he was one of them. And he's just got a great family. He's a great kid. I'm glad he's on our team and he's going to be a bang up Army officer. He's just going to be terrific.

Love it. Coach Jeff Munkin here with us. Army Navy obviously coming up on Saturday. I saw in the last rankings you guys were twenty two in the college football playoff. We know the Heisman Trophy is going to be presented on Saturday.

Bryson isn't a finalist just with those two topics not getting more consideration. Is it a little bit disappointment or do you kind of understand it? Oh, it is what it is. We don't make those decisions. We can't control it. All we can do is play the best we can. Try to try to win the games that are put in front of us and and maximize who we can be and hope that's good enough. And other people are tasked with making those decisions.

They're not easy decisions. But but certainly for Bryson, the year he's had, I had really hoped that he would have an opportunity to just be at the table with the guys down at the downtown athletic club. He's he's had just a marvelous year. I think he's one of the best players in college football. He's he's at least as valuable to our team as any player in college football play in college football is to theirs. And for that, I thought he deserves an opportunity. But the numbers, it's hard to argue with the numbers means he's you know, he's rushed for a lot of yards thrown for a lot of yards, accounted for a lot of touchdowns. And and there's not many times in the history of college football that an academy player has the kind of season that that he has had and can be a legitimate, a legitimate candidate for the biggest individual award in college football. And I think this is one of those times he he certainly had the numbers to back it up. And I don't know that anybody would have felt like he was out of place based on the statistics that he's had.

And if you just turn the film on and watch him turn the TV on on Saturday afternoons and watch him, most people would agree. So we have the jersey in the studio, right? We got the Army jersey here.

We're ready for the game coming up on Saturday. Just one of the emotions, because I know all throughout the year it's go Army beat Navy. So how about the emotions before this one?

It is. It's an emotional game. It always is. But what we've got to be very conscious of is not allowing the emotion of the game to stand in the way of the execution that needs to happen. And that's really what we're focusing on is trying to do a great job of executing our assignments and fundamentals. And we're going to have to do it as well as we've done it all year if we're going to have a chance to win. So just excited about the opportunity to be on a national stage and have the college football world all with their eyes on this Army Navy game is going to be fantastic.

Last thing I want to ask you, Coach Jeff Monk, it has nothing to do with your program, but I would love your insight just because of the fact you've been doing this for a while and you've had a lot of success. There's a report out there from Inside Carolina that UNC and Bill Belichick are now finalizing a deal for Bill to be the head coach. How do you think a guy that's won six Super Bowls, you know the legend that is Bill Belichick, will do in the college game?

Winners win. And he's certainly an outstanding coach. What a career he's had. And so, you know, if that's the case, they're getting a great football coach. And guys that know how to win and guys that compete like he did for so long and has for so long, you know, they know how to do it. So I wish him well.

If that's the case, I certainly wish him well. Well, Coach, we wish you well. Good luck coming up on Saturday. Appreciate you jumping on board with us today and good luck. Thanks a lot.

Be Navy. There you go. Jeff Monk and joining us on the Zach Yelp show on the Infinity Sports Network. Marco Belletti, El Capitan is here. We'll get an update for him in just a bit. But now it looks like this thing's going to happen. I know we were talking about it yesterday.

As long as the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted. Trey Boston, who played for UNC in the Carolina Panthers as well, he said, Word is I'm here and it's done. You know, build a Chapel Hill. So I think we're just waiting for Schefter, Rappaport, someone to say that it's done with, even though most have already chimed in and said that, hey, this is pretty much on the one yard line. Let's just see if Pete Carroll says, hey, let's throw the football and have this thing picked off. Well, I mean, that's the thing. We still got it. There's a couple of things that they still need to finalize from what from the account.

So and part of that is, you know, money. So let's see if it's 100 percent done. But I'm still I'm surprised. I'm surprised from Belichick standpoint, but I guess he just wants to coach.

I didn't look. Can he win there? I'm not saying he can't. Do I think he's going to be the heavy guy sitting in the living room recruiting? No, I don't buy that, but I don't think he needs to know. It's about money and it's about crime. Doesn't do that. I was saying that earlier.

And not for nothing. Look, if you tell me Bill Belichick can't out scheme coaches and get to the ACC championship, if you give him talent. I mean, you need your head exam. They will consistently be. I know that they've been this, but under Mac Brown, they'll consistently be a bowl eligible team. And can there be a year where they go pull off nine wins and they're in the ACC championship?

I think so. No one's saying Bill's winning a national championship because no one's saying that an ACC team is winning a national championship. I know Dabo had his run and Dabo's back in the playoff because he won the ACC. But we have two teams from the ACC in the playoff. No one's making the case for SMU or Clemson to win this entire thing in a 12 team.

No. And again, we'll find out as we go down that road. But if it gets to that point, do I expect him in an ACC championship soon?

I do. Because if they give him talent, he's going to just be he's going to outsmart you. He's going to out scheme you. That's not a knock on coaches. He's the he's the best ever do it.

That's what Belichick made his bread and butter on was. He knows how to take away your best aspect and he knows how to be able to highlight what he does. He doesn't always have the most talent, but he's smarter than you most of the time. So if you give him enough talent in the college game, good chance he's going to out scheme you and then we'll see where it goes. Does that lead to a national title? Maybe not. But could it lead to the playoff?

Yeah. I could see Belichick in North Carolina being in the playoff very easily if this gets done. And if they put the money in that they I'm assuming would have to.

Otherwise, Belichick wouldn't do it. Here's the other part, too. And I feel confident, obviously, that this is going to get done.

And I've been saying this since yesterday. Where else is UNC going? John Summerall already right. Had the the agreement with Tulane. They thought he was going to be the candidate, Cole Kublick, who we talked about. I talked to us about this in the first segment. He is as plugged in as anybody with college football. Right.

Does the show in Alabama on Jocks FM, SEC Network. And I asked this the other day. I go, if it's not Bill at this stage and Summerall's out, like, who is it? And there's no answer there. No, I'm already late in the process to hire a college coach. That's definitely part of it. And look, you can't do better than Belichick. That's look, I realize that it's a Band-Aid that it's only three or four years. But to put the program on the map the way he could do in the three years that in four years, five years that he's there is worth it for all those things.

And I don't think they have another option by any stretch. To me, this was more of Belichick. I didn't see the negative for North Carolina in any way. I see the negative for Belichick and the simple fact of he has to minimum do that kind of stuff. Otherwise, we look at the end of his career and you go, it fell apart when New England, when Brady was gone. He goes to North Carolina. He can't even win the college game. And is that the way you want a six-time Super Bowl winning head coach to have his career wind up? That's what I didn't want. I didn't want the downside of if he goes five and seven in North Carolina after three years.

A three and nine, a five and seven. Like, it tarnishes somewhat of the reputation. Will we remember 20 years from now?

No, we're going to forget about it. But in the short term, I don't want to see him have that part of his resume. I don't see the upside. I only see the downside.

Here's the weird part to me, though. They just got rid of Mac Brown, right? Legendary college coach who restored UNC, made him bowl eligible consistently again.

Because, right, they felt like he did everything he could. Older coach, time to move on. I know Bill is a six-time winning Super Bowl champion. But you're now bringing another old coach and we're talking about, you know, maybe they could get to an ACC championship game. But probably they're going to be like a seven, right, eight-win team a year in college football. And Mac Brown, you know, the second chapter UNC was seven and six, eight and four, six and seven, nine and five, eight and five, and six and six. It's just, it's funny to me that Bill ends up being the guy after they moved on for Mac for all those reasons. Fair, but I think the expectations for Belichick is more than that.

What do you think? I think it's a minimum ACC championship. In year one? Why not?

Why not? Does UNC, I know it's UNC with Belichick. As long as they put the money in and they give him talent, he got the coach. And the conference is, I'm not telling you he's got to go to an SEC championship. He's got to go to an ACC championship. I'm not saying that the ACC is that strong, but you know, you still got Clemson. You know, Fran Brown has done a good job at Syracuse. SMU is now in the college football playoff. Pitt always has a pulse. Maybe Miami's able to make this consistent thing. Norvell with the bounce back.

I just don't walk into this. I think he, I agree with you. I think he can't eventually get to an ACC championship game.

In year one, I kind of think it's, for a guy that's never done college, I would say like eight wins. And I'd be very happy. In year one or year two, I don't think it would be, I don't think it takes longer than that. And I don't expect it to take longer than that. Well, it could change very quickly now because of the transfer portal.

And less than that, I think would be a problem. And I can't see, how many people, how many players on a transfer portal, on a scholarship, whatever it is, you're going to turn down the opportunity to play for Belichick? They only know, they know the curmudgeon, but they also saw the guy that was on media this year. So they see the lighter side of it. And you're telling me he can make all those players win Super Bowls.

He can't help me? So I think that former players, kids, are going to flock there. Are going to go there because you're going to get professional coaching. I do think there are some athletes nowadays, college athletes, that they just care about the most money, which is their right and I have no problem with it. And there are a lot of sensitive college athletes that, just like Deion, because Deion is an old school football coach. And I think a lot of people don't look at it that way. They may not be able to take that level of coaching that Bill gives you, where I don't want them on my team to begin with then, but I can see why some people will be rubbed off by Bill. But they won't know that until they actually experience it because they'll fool themselves that that's not going to be me.

It's out for other people, but not for me. As long as the money is there and they see it as a pipeline to get to the NFL, which is the ultimate goal for every one of these players, there is no downside to play for Belichick. You think Brady cuts an AL check for his old football coach? I'm sure Bill calls. I'm sure he's calling a lot of former players to see what kind of money he can get. I don't know if we're going to get it out of some of them. Don't call a Sante Samuel. I mean, I don't know how many rivalries they're going to turn away, but there's a lot of reservoirs that I'm sure Bill is going to tap into.

And be like, hey, remember that time that I helped you out with this? Let's see if we can get something here. Robert Kraft. I know we had an ugly ending, but how about a few million? That call, I don't know if he's making.

It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We'll come on back. We'll do a little college football championship draft. Twelve teams still will pick six.

I will pick six to win it all. Update time first. Here is El Capitan Marco Bellini. You're listening to the Zach Gelb show. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network, and it's time to ask the pros. You, the listener, get to ask us a question brought to you by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Simply tweet your question at I-N-S-Sports-N-R at Zach Gelb using the hashtag askthepros. If you're listening later in the show, we might answer your question. Think O'Reilly Auto Parts for all your car care needs.

Get guaranteed low prices and excellent customer service from the professional parts people at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Twelve teams in the college football playoffs. We've got about four or five minutes here, so let's quickly do this. We'll do a snake draft. Six teams each.

Twelve total teams in the college football playoff. I will start first. I'll go number one.

I think it makes it easier for you because then you get two and three. You know, I think two and three, I know we feel Oregon against the field. It's Oregon, but I feel like then after that, that's where it gets a little hairy. That's fair. I'll go Oregon one.

Okay, great. I will go with Georgia. I think they have the second best chance. And for my second pick, I hate picking this coach.

I don't like picking this team, and I also don't love their route of getting there. But I think Ohio State has a lot of talent. I would go Ohio State right after Georgia. Now, if you are Tennessee, we'll get to this story later, but don't plant a flag on their field afterwards.

A, it could start a brawl, and if the political world moves as quickly as it usually never does, but maybe if it does, that could end up being a felony. More on that story coming up later. So Georgia, Ohio State off the board for Stu. I took Oregon.

Now I get two picks. I'm going to go... Ooh, this is where it gets tricky, tricky, tricky. I'm going to go... Notre Dame.

And... Oh, man. I think Texas and Penn State are so fraudulent. I do. I'm probably going to reach here. I'm going to go Tennessee. I'm going to take the volunteers. Would you have taken the volunteers if I would have took Texas there, I just wonder? Um, if you would have... I would have taken Tennessee, yes. Yeah.

You probably should have just said no. So I have Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee. You have Georgia, Ohio State. Now you get two picks.

Alright, I will go Texas. I still think there's talent there. I agree they're kind of fraudulent, but at the same time, I do think if they get everything together, they could be a team that gets very far and could possibly win it.

Now I think there's the line of teams. Now I really don't think they can win it all, but obviously we're picking teams in order here. I guess Penn State based off of their path when they have the, you know, the SMU matchup and then Boise. Boise, I just think Penn State at least looking at their path, I kind of like their path, so I'll pick them next.

Okay, I said it yesterday. I think either Boise State or Arizona State, one of those teams are going to go to the Final Four. I don't know which one, but I think one of them will. And I do think one of them will pick off either Texas or Penn State because I do think Texas will be Clemson and Penn State will be SMU. So let's get crazy here. I'll take both Cinderella's and the bi-teams, which is crazy to say that they're Cinderella's, but that's just the way the format is. I'll go Arizona State and Boise State. So you have two more picks and then I take whoever you do not select. Yeah, and for the record, I would have picked Boise and Arizona State where you did.

So we were pretty spot on that. So that leaves Indiana Clemson and SMU. I will go Indiana.

I think the coach is great. And again, if they could somehow get past Notre Dame and Georgia, which is going to be really tough, but you never know. And then after that, I'll go Clemson with my second pick. So that leaves you with SMU. Yeah.

You know what? It's crazy. I thought Clemson would have gone a little bit earlier. Personally, even though Clemson has not been great this year, they still won the ACC. I would trust if somehow we got Clemson, Indiana in a championship game.

Oh, my God. This would be drunk. I would take Clemson. And if we got Clemson, SMU in the championship game, I would take Clemson as well. So I do agree with you. I think out of all the teams of the college football playoff, SMU is probably the team I feel least confident in to win a championship.

And that's just the way that the cookie crumbles. So that's the championship draft right there. My final selections, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Arizona State, Boise State, SMU. What a six pack of picks right there. Interesting. Still has Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Indiana and Clemson.

All right. It is the Zach Gelb show. Infinity Sports Network will take a break when we come on back. Ryan Hot Take Hickey is going to join us in studio. He's been spewing around hot takes all throughout the week. A man that told us he was never going to get too high with Penn State this year.

I don't know if I'll have the stones to stay it on the air or maybe his opinion changed and maybe he came to his good senses in the last 24 hours. But yesterday at around this time, I talked to him in the newsroom and he told me he thinks Penn State's going to the championship game. The national championship game, to be clear. So we'll talk to hot take Hickey next, get his thoughts on Alabama getting left out for SMU, how he looks at the early bracket. We'll see who will be joining his pick of Penn State in the national championship game. And also, I know Hickey is a Belichick hater because Belichick owned his team. We'll get his thoughts on the possibility of the hoodie. Bill Belichick going to Chapel Hill.