Bill Belichick's inaugural season as the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach has not gotten off to a pristine start, tallying a 2-2 record in their first four games. Yet, prior to Saturday's matchups against the 1-3 Clemson Tigers, Belichick treated college football fans to a spectacle live from the sideline of Chapel Hill.

During a segment of ESPN's College Gameday, Belichick shared praise for legendary coach Nick Saban and reflected on their time together, when they were members of the Cleveland Browns' coaching staff from 1991 to 1994.

“Well, I learned an awful lot from Coach Saban. We came from different defensive systems, and we merged them together in Cleveland. I learned a lot from him about man-to-man coverage, which we didn’t play a lot of at New York, and the 4-3 defense, which he played at Michigan State and Toledo,” Belichick explained.

“So, it was a great experience watching Nick handle the free agents and recruit and build a program at Alabama. I’m very grateful for the relationship I have with him and all the things I’ve learned from him. He’s the best that’s ever done it. And like I said, it’s a real honor for me to just be with him for those four years at and to have our relationship and friendship that I’d be almost life-long in this career.”

Article Continues Below

Saban replied, “I never thought in all the time we've been friends that I'd say you're full of s**t. But I learned a lot more from you than you ever learned from me.”

Although Saban and Belichick never got the chance to face off during their time in college football, the two did go head-to-head in the NFL. Amid Saban's brief two-year tenure as the Miami Dolphins' head coach, his teams bested Belichick's Patriots twice, with a record of 2-2 overall.