Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winner, said he became further intrigued with college football this year while spending considerable time inside a major program. He worked with coach Jedd Fisch at Washington, where his 37-year-old son Steve Belichick, a former Patriots assistant coach, is also the defensive coordinator.

If I was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL,” Belichick said. “It would be a professional program with training,