Bill Belichick's former players say he'll 'have to change' to succeed at UNC

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots players found out the news just like we did. The headline, Belichick to UNC, blasted to their phones on push notifications. It populated their feeds on social media. It appeared on the TVs at Gillette Stadium.

"Really just surprised, you know? Eight-time Super Bowl champion. Greatest of all time," defensive tackle Christian Barmore said.

It didn't seem real.

In the Patriots locker room, where there's no shortage of men who know Belichick closely, every single man admitted he was surprised.

"I never thought he'd coach in college," quarterback Jacoby Brissett told FOX Sports on Thursday.

"No one was expecting Bill would do some s--- like that," defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale said.

"I'm sure he wants to be in the league," linebacker Jahlani Tavai said.

"I was surprised. Definitely shocking," receiver Kendrick Bourne said. "I thought he was going to be in the NFL."

Belichick is going to have to change. If he and the North Carolina Tar Heels are going to do what Belichick loves more than anything else (to win), then Belichick can't simply be the same guy that he was with the Patriots for more than two decades.

That was one of the few things the Patriots players agreed upon.

"He's going to have to make some adjustments," Bourne said.

"Those kids are going to run him amuck. So he's going to have to change," Brissett said.

But how much?

[Related: Belichick, UNC early win total set at 7.5 ]

"He's very adaptable," Deatrich Wise said. "He loves coaching. And I feel like he'll change his method to reach more kids to get more out of them. … But maybe it'll just be him being himself. And he'll let everybody conform to him, which could be a good thing. Who knows? Who really knows? Bill