Bill Belichick’s tenure at UNC got off to an awful start. The team was bad, he wasn’t able to do much, and he attracted a distracting media circus from the beginning. Now that it’s all over, and the Tar Heels are not going bowling, should he be let go? It’ll cost UNC, but does Belichick deserve a second year?
Bill Belichick probably shouldn’t be back next season
Bill Belichick was an unmitigated disaster at the college level. His skills did not really transfer to the college game. Either that, or as was suspected towards the end of his NFL run, he was out of skills at this point anyway. He’s old and has coached for a long time, so the latter wouldn’t be entirely shocking.
Either way, the Tar Heels need a new direction. How can anyone be inspired and hopeful for the future after the product that was on the field this year? The Heels essentially went 4-8 on a non-difficult schedule and suffered two close losses that could be construed as moral victories. There were no big wins. There were no statements. They were plain bad from top to bottom.
Now, Belichick was working with a rebuilt roster that he had to use the transfer portal to make. That’s a recipe for disaster, no matter who’s in charge. However, does anyone think Belichick would’ve done better in recruiting? Lately, his talent evaluation has been awful. His drafting in the last few seasons with the Patriots was downright awful, so it’s fair to wonder if he’d have been able to find talent for UNC at all.
But regardless of the talent deficit they faced, Belichick couldn’t help raise the floor of his defense, which should’ve been a given. They allowed 30 or more points five times. They allowed 40 or more twice, and they ended by getting blown out by rival NC State. It was ugly on defense, and with such a gifted defensive coach, it shouldn’t have been.
They couldn’t end on a high note, either. The middle stretch, where the Heels nearly beat Cal and Virginia before beating Syracuse and Stanford, is the high mark of the season, and that’s a pretty uninspiring run. That just speaks to how disappointing this entire season was.
Belichick isn’t the only coach on staff, but he assembled them. And he essentially assembled a who’s who of failed coaches. GM Michael Lombardi, OC Freddie Kitchens, DC Steve Belichick, and others are either friends or family of Belichick and have failed coaching stints on their resumes. It was a bad staff that he handpicked, and that should be enough of an indication that this isn’t going to work. Are other assistants that Belichick likes working with going to turn it around? Not likely.
At one point, rumors circled that UNC was going to buy him out before the season was over and was looking at exit options. Now that the season is mercifully over, they can actually do that. It’s unclear if they will, because all official communication from the school and from Belichick has been that he’s sticking around.
However, if the NFL comes calling, which it might with so many potential coach and DC openings, Belichick might want to go back to where he’s best. And even if he doesn’t, the Tar Heels should either encourage him to do so or just bite the bullet and move on. This was a big swing, one they deserve some credit for taking, but it backfired spectacularly. Better to call it now and move on to someone else who might save the program than let it toil any longer.
Related Posts
