Bill Belichick's first hire at UNC proves the Cowboys tiptoed around disaster

There are four games left in the Dallas Cowboys' season, which means Mike McCarthy's contract is close to expiring. At the rate things are going, your guess is as good as ours if McCarthy will be back in 2025.

The sheer presence of Bill Belichick as a potential replacement made it seem like McCarthy was a dead-man walking. It was reported at various points this season that Belichick would consider the Cowboys job if it became available. His distinguished resume and hard-nosed coaching style seemed like an ideal fit for a franchise that has a reputation for flaming out in the playoffs.

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Well, Belichick is no longer an option for Jerry Jones after he agreed to become the head coach at the University of North Carolina. Talks between Belichick and the Tar Heels heated up in recent weeks and he signed a reported five-year, $50 million contract with the university.

It's a stunning development, but one that suggests Belichick may have had difficulty nabbing an NFL job this hiring cycle. Regardless, it is somewhat relieving that the Belichick-replacing-McCarthy narrative can be put to rest.

Cowboys fans were split on the idea, but Belichick's first hire at his new stomping grounds hints it would have been a huge mistake.

Bill Belichick hiring Michael Lombardi at UNC proves Cowboys dodged disaster

Belichick has brought in former NFL general manager and longtime executive Michael Lombardi as UNC's general manager. Belichick and Lombardi worked together in both Cleveland and New England. They last worked together in 2016 when Lombardi was an assistant on Belichick's Patriots staff.

Lombardi has vast experience in the NFL. Thirty-two years to be exact. He served in a variety of scouting roles with numerous teams before spending the 2013 season as the Browns general manager, though he only held that position for one year.

Lombardi's only draft was ... not very good.

He selected linebacker Barkevious Mingo No. 6 overall. The Browns let Mingo go before his rookie deal expired and he started just 16 games in three seasons. From there, Lombardi drafted cornerback Leon McFadden in the third round. McFadden was out of the NFL after just four years.

That draft is perhaps the biggest testament to why Lombardi bounced around the league for three decades.

From 1984 to 2013, he had eight different jobs and worked for six different teams. The best scouts and executives often stick with a single team for a long duration. Sure, certain individuals make lateral moves along the way, but Lombardi is one of the most overrated "football minds" out there and has been for a while. There is a reason he has found it difficult to land a GM job.

While it's unlikely that Belichick would have brought Lombardi with him to Dallas, that he hired Lombardi as UNC's general manager suggests he's still stuck in his ways, for lack of a better term. Among Belichick's poor roster construction (go look at some of his final drafts in New England), his game management near the end of his Patriots tenure did not align with how the game evolved.

There's no way to know for sure that Belichick wouldn't have worked with the Cowboys. However, hiring Lombardi is the biggest indicator possible that it wouldn't have been the seamless fit so many thought it would be.

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