One of football’s greatest coaches shocked the world when he announced that he was joining the North Carolina Tar Heels. The six-time Super Bowl champion joined the program back in December and hoped to bring the Tar Heels back from constant mediocrity. The Tar Heels up to this point had only been winning five to seven games since 2017. Belichick hopes to turn that around.
Belichick coached the New England Patriots for 24 seasons, winning six Super Bowls with quarterback Tom Brady and finishing with an all time record of 266-121, ranking among the greatest coaches of all time. However, that hasn’t translated into college football as many had hoped.
Belichick lost his first game with North Carolina against TCU in a 48-14 loss. It showed the difference between college football and professional football as North Carolina started with a dominant drive on both sides of the ball before falling apart. While many were disheartened, Belichick was not as he led his team to beat Charlotte in game two 20-3. Belichick looked like he adapted quickly as they maintained full control the whole game versus Charlotte.
Junior Tyler Welsh shared his thoughts on Belichick’s start: “Rough week one, he didn’t prepare them well enough. They stepped up in week two though.”
Belichick avenged his loss by defeating former Tar Heel Quarterback, now Charlotte transfer, Connor Harrell, and it continued as he led the 1-1 Tar Heels to defeat the Richmond Spiders 41-6, in a game where Belichick looked like his NFL self again. It was a reassuring win for Tar Heel fans as it showed that Belichick had gotten his team together and put the TCU loss behind them, hoping for a push toward the ACC Championship and College Football Playoffs.
However, those hopes seem further away than previously thought, as North Carolina took an embarrassing loss to UCF 34-9. This loss was deflating for the Tar Heels as it looked as if they hadn’t improved at all since last season even with the addition of Belichick. No one on the team played very well, leaving fans desperate for them to prepare better for the rest of the season as they roll into their bye week.
Welsh hopes that “North Carolina goes to playoffs from here,” which remains a possibility as North Carolina’s schedule is not very difficult with very few challenging games as of September 25. The Tar Heels future schedule has no ranked teams, with the most difficult game being on October 4 at home against the once ranked Clemson. Other than that, they play California, Virginia, Syracuse, Stanford, Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina State.
However, while Belichick is a big part of the success for North Carolina, the players are just as crucial for every win. Standout players like Caleb Hood, Gio Lopez and Jordan Shipp have shown out significantly so far this season.
SP Major Harper thinks that North Carolina has a “very good future because they have an experienced coach,” and “people want to come play for one of the best coaches.”
With this bright future, does North Carolina win a National Championship?
Well, Senior Javis Pugh thinks they will win a championship “Within a few years.” That is the hope among North Carolina fans. Only time will tell what North Carolina can do with a prestigious coach in a historic program.
