Bill Belichick, UNC ‘Hard Knocks’ Deal Falls Through at Last Minute

Bill Belichick and North Carolina won’t be appearing on Hard Knocks after all.

Last week, Front Office Sports reported that the legendary former NFL head coach and his new college program were set to appear on the HBO docuseries. 

However, talks broke down at the last minute.

“NFL Films had discussions with Coach Belichick and UNC about appearing on Hard Knocks this offseason but couldn’t reach an agreement,” an NFL Media spokesperson told CBS Sports reporter Jonathan Jones in a statement. NFL Media encompasses NFL Films, which produces Hard Knocks. Jones reported that talks broke down at the last minute due to “creative control” issues. 

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reports that the deal was kiboshed at least in part because there was a cohort of NFL owners unhappy about lending the prestige of NFL Films to Belichick.

Nevertheless, it’s possible that another platform picks up the docuseries on Belichick’s program, a source told FOS. 

The program is likely to be produced by RedBird IMI-backed EverWonder Studio, which also produced “The Showdown” golf match, the Players Era NIL basketball tournament, and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, a source close to the situation said. (RedBird IMI is also an investor in Front Office Sports.)

“We’ve had a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program and kind of do the behind-the-scenes things, but I don’t think anything’s yet been official or signed,” UNC GM Michael Lombardi told Pat McAfee last week.

Hard Knocks had sought to partner with the college program after NFL Films was unable to find a team willing to participate following last year’s series with the Giants. A scene where GM Joe Schoen made the decision not to retain Saquon Barkley was particularly stinging given how the season played out for both sides. 

However, while CBS reports it’s “unlikely” there will be a Hard Knocks centered on the offseason again this year, the annual show covering training camp will still air later this summer.