Bill Belichick, North Carolina Will Not Be Appearing On 'Hard Knocks' This Offseason

After all the hoopla surrounding the college football world getting a look at Bill Belichick during his first offseason at North Carolina, the deal with ‘Hard Knocks’ has fallen through. 

It was announced last week that HBO and North Carolina officials were working to finalize a deal that would see the once-popular show make its way to Chapel Hill for an offseason edition of the show, given that executives could not find an NFL team to participate. 

While the show would’ve most likely been a hit, especially given that this is Bill Belichick's first season in the college ranks, NFL Films and the school could not come to an agreement, according to CBS Sports. 

"NFL Films had discussions with Coach Belichick and UNC about appearing on Hard Knocks this offseason but couldn't reach an agreement," a spokesperson for NFL Media, which includes NFL Films, told CBS Sports. 

Social media was ecstatic last week at the thought of getting a behind-the-scenes look at what this North Carolina football program would look like with an NFL-like approach, and a potential look at how Belichick would be running his program.

But, at the end of the day, it wasn’t meant to be. Judging by how many schools are now trying to keep their programs on lockdown from the outside world, this news is not very surprising, even with all the chatter last week about the potential show. 

For NFL Films, they are still looking for a team to bite on the potential show, especially after last season's inaugural off-season show that followed the New York Giants, which caused multiple problems for the organization, along with finishing 3-14 on the season. 

NFL Films 'Hard Knocks' will not be producing a series on Bill Belichick and North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

College Football Programs Are Producing In-House Shows For NIL

Right now, there are multiple streaming companies that would love to get an inside-look at college football programs. 

In this ever-changing world of college athletics, schools are using their own media departments to provide documentary-like programs for fans across the country. At the moment, there is a massive push for original content that is provided by football teams to also give fans a look at what's going on during the Spring practice period. 

Also, a lot of schools are shifting their video content to a subscription-based platform that will involve NIL, which offers fans the opportunity to pay a certain amount of money to get access to interviews, daily updates and footage from inside the building. 

In the meantime, there will be suitors to follow in the footsteps of Amazon and Netflix looking to capitalize on college football content. FOX Nation recently released a documentary-style series about Alabama's 2024 season, which was the first without Nick Saban at the helm. 

Also, VICE Sports has been following the Arkansas and St. John's basketball programs this season for a weekly docuseries that features both John Calipari and Rick Pitino. So, there is a market for these types of shows, which gives fans a look at what's going on within these teams. 

Heading into the future, we will continue to see athletic departments continue to create additional sources of revenue by providing access to their programs through their own media rights deals, which come at a price. 

For now, with North Carolina not agreeing to a deal with NFL Films, we'll just have to wait for the program to give us a look at what is transpiring with Bill Belichick during his first year as a college football head coach.