It feels just like yesterday, when Bill Belichick hit the gravel at Chapel Hill. Fandom held its breath, for the legendary coach, who developed Tom Brady, to shape the Tar Heels’ college football trajectory. UNC’s remaking was no longer a hope; it seemed certain. But what looked like a huge bang fizzled out like damp firecrackers. A 2-2 record, Belichick’s NFL pedigree charm appeared lacklustre. However, the NFL legend has one firm hand placed on his shoulder, the UNC Chancellor is still rooting for him.
You know, what was the most heartbreaking bit for Chapel Hill? Losing to an already-touted as one of the worst football programs. The UCF Knights. If it had been Georgia or the Buckeyes, it might not have stung that deep. But a 9-34 (UCF) and 48-14 (TCU) loss stung deep. Although they raked in two wins against Power Four competition, they scrambled to reach the endzone. An 82-23 streak! But Lee Roberts has got his faith intact in Belichick.
“It’s not the kind of thing that we judge after four games or even after one season,” Roberts said on Thursday, per *WRAL News*. “These things take time. We last won the conference championship in 1980, and so we have significant work to do, significant investment to make to get the program where we want it to be.”
But fans are hurt. More to the woe, the Tar Heels secured the bottom rung of the ACC conference in total offense (263.5 yards per game), passing offense (150 yards per game), and third-down conversion rate (34.5%). Moving on, the NFL legend said that he will review film footage to decide the QB starting against Clemson in October. After crushing losses, Urban Meyer was bitingly cold in his calculation. “They’re worse on tape than I thought they would be.”
Belichick’s reaction? “It’s still a work in progress, and we’ll continue to work through.” There are certainly loads to do. But fans are eager to want that dopamine, that instant gratification. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Ever since Belichick joined the Tar Heels, he has been pretty active in recruitment, reworking, rewiring, and rebuilding the program. A coaching staff overhaul, pumped up with NFL pedigree, and a fresh, elite incoming roster were his priorities.
But the present roster lacked depth and the explosiveness required to make impressive plays. QB Gio Lopez threw five interceptions before he headed to the sidelines in the third quarter, owing to a leg injury. So, he took a leaf from Colorado HC Deion Sanders‘ playbook and pumped the roster, hauling in players from the transfer portal. A quick way to amalgamate talent. Over 70 new faces, but the result was twice the disappointment.
Bill Belichick and the dreadful Grade F
With the losses, certainly, the Tar Heels did not expect a pat on the back. Grade F is what *CBS Sports* awarded North Carolina. Not that you would need to be told this, but ‘F’ stands for total disaster. Out of the 28 coaches graded, only two failed. Belichick and UMass’ Joe Harasymiak. “Four games in, it looks like one of the most disastrous hires in recent memory,” CBS Sports wrote. “There’s a realistic chance that the Tar Heels lose out, which would mark the worst season in Chapel Hill since 2003. For comparison, Mack Brown posted six straight bowl appearances. Grade: F.”
Just for context, UCF Knights’ Scott Frost got a B+. Aside from talent, the roster needs to be in sync, gelling together. Maybe that’s where the hiccup lay as well. Belichick admitted that. “Football is a team sport,” he said post-defeat to the UCF Knights. “There’s 11 guys out there, we’re not talking about one guy. It’s 11 guys that have to operate efficiently, and at times we’ve done that and at times we haven’t. Today wasn’t one of our better ones.”
However, college football and the NFL are two distinct landscapes. Surely, there’s a steady flow of coaches switching between the two circuits. But the culture is different. Even the legendary Nick Saban couldn’t replicate his college football success in the pro league. Belichick might be on the receiving end of the skeptics, and in the past days, when firings have grabbed more eyeballs, UNC stands firm with its head coach.