North Carolina has found its new football coach, as Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham has hired NFL legend and six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick as the Tar Heels’ new leader, multiple sources confirmed to Tar Heel Illustrated on Wednesday evening.

Multiple sources have also confirmed that the Board of Trustees will approve the deal Thursday morning at 9 AM. THI has been told this will be an "easy" and "quick" process.

Belichick, who will turn 73 in April, spent 24 seasons as the head coach of the New England Patriots leading them to six Super Bowls. He was also head coach of the Cleveland Browns for five seasons in the early 1990s.

In all, he led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and 13 times to the AFC Championship game. His all-time record of 302-165, making him the third winningest coach of all time behind Don Shula and George Halas. And he won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, learning under legendary coach Bill Parcells.

Belichick’s name as a prospective was a surprise given that the rest of the potential UNC head coaches the school was in contact with are all college coaches with the exception of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who played at UNC in the early 2000s.

The Belichick candidacy was not considered serious at first, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the search. But the zoom interview went so well that UNC officials met with him in New York City on Thursday, and that meeting was even more positive and the process fully began taking shape.

According to sources, Belichick will hire his son, Steve, as the head-coach-in-waiting, and he will take over the program when his legendary father steps down. Steve Belichick, 37, is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.

The Huskies are currently ranked No. 27 in total defense and No. 47 in scoring defense. Previously, he spent 12 years coaching under his father with the Patriots handing linebackers, safeties, and calling plays at different times.

Bill Belichick replaces Mack Brown, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, though he has never coached in college before. It is expected he will retain a portion of Brown’s staff. Brown went 44-33 in six seasons in his second stint in Chapel Hil.