r/tarheels • u/TheAthletic • 2d ago
NCAAF [Ubben] Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels are getting better, but no one seems to care
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7656720/2026/10/03/bill-belichick-unc-football-record-notre-dame/?unlocked_article_code=1.GFE.vK7f.5nYmrZfV97z5&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-taCHAPEL HILL, N.C. — I’ve been to three games in the Bill Belichick era at North Carolina.
Every one ended with the stands empty and only a few devoted students waiting on the railing of the west end zone to see their team trot back into the locker room.
The difference this time was North Carolina was mostly competitive, spending much of the third quarter within a possession of a top-five team, who UNC is now 1-42-1 against all time.
Except nobody seemed to care as UNC rallied from an early deficit in a 37-26 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame.
“We were certainly competitive. We missed some opportunities,” Belichick said. “We just need to do a better job of coaching, playing, taking advantage of those opportunities.”
Thus far, the reasons North Carolina would turn to Belichick to steer the program have yet to show themselves. The national attention brought to the program was brief and minimal, and it was derailed by conversations about his girlfriend after a “CBS Sunday Morning” interview went awry.
The rain in Saturday’s forecast arrived late in the first half, but at kickoff, there was plenty of room to stretch your legs in the student section of Kenan Stadium. Most of the stadium’s north side was dotted with green — Notre Dame fans watching the next step on what they hope is a College Football Playoff run.
There was no such hope among those wearing Carolina blue who arrived to see their 2-1 team that should have entered 3-0 but squandered a lead in a weather-delayed loss to Clemson two weeks ago.
Hiring Belichick was always going to be a football risk. The construction and management of an NFL franchise couldn’t be more different from building and managing a roster in the modern era of college football, where rules are merely suggestions and more programs have factors working against their climb up the standings than aiding it.
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u/ChuckNorrisDropKick 2d ago edited 2d ago
I care. The team is markedly better IMO. Offense is much better even if Edwards is mediocre at best. The defense has been good with BB calling plays. I am actually very impressed with the improvement in 1 season.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball 2d ago
The problem is this
He’s yet to show an ability to attract big-time talent out of high school or in the transfer portal. He signed 40 high school recruits this offseason, but none were top-100 prospects. No incoming transfers were four-star prospects, per 247Sports. His six Super Bowl rings appear to be an ineffective lure.
We aren't showing enough improvement to be like hey we have enough nil and are like 10 guys away from turning this around next year.
Meanwhile, BB has a short clock and a lot of off field issues that keep any stepping stone type guys away too.
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u/hesnothere 2d ago
This is the rub. He’s not going to leave it better than he found it. How many years does he realistically have in the tank anyhow? He was the oldest coach when we hired him, he’s not getting more energetic on the recruiting trail.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
100% incorrect. He found the program in shambles. Talent had bottomed out. We had a 9 man recruiting class. Not enough players to field a team. The average fan doesn’t realize the plane was headed towards the mountain before Belichick took the controls. No money for the sport. He’s engaged top donors and begun to implement a real culture. This is the best coached we have looked in years. 2 years ago JMU was hanging 70 on us.
His goal is to continue to build the program and hand it off when we get to the SEC
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u/Sea_Working_80 1d ago
As a lifelong dolphins fan the more years he spends at UNC the less years he will be in the NFL which means less chance(if ever) of breaking shulas wins record.
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u/lizpingu 1d ago
Still a better coach than Shula, who couldn't win a thing with Dan freaking Marino.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
Burgess and Sadler were both top 100 recruits at one point. Dopson reclassed. He was a 5 star before that. UNC has budget restraints. We can sign top 100 prospects and fill out the team. Not enough money. Look at the top 100 recruits over the last few years and where they signed. 90% are signing with the big money programs.
UNC has to bide their time until it gets to the SEC
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u/lawyerlyaffectations 2d ago
The NYT must not know that Carolina has never had a great football culture, and that hiring a skeezy old man and all his drama wasn’t going to change that. Plus, even die hard football fans know that this is too icky even for a compromised sport
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u/mellolizard 2d ago
No one cares because we are still losing. Beat someone of consequences and people will care.
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u/MarcusPaigesLastShot 2d ago
It’s a bizarre situation. Tickets for the game today were more expensive than much more desirable games. You could have gotten in the door cheaper at Clemson-Miami, Tennessee-Auburn, NCSU-Louisville and Bama-Miss. St. Yet, despite tickets going for $150+, 30,000 people left at half time. We have a fan base that’s willing to pay a premium and go through the hassle of getting to the stadium, but is absolutely uninterested in actually sitting in the stadium to watch the game unless things go perfectly.
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u/Underground_Bread 2d ago
It happens in other games too so it’s not strictly the weather, but it was an awful rain so that didn’t help keep the stadium full during an early deficit
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u/Responsible_Fan8665 1d ago
Or watching a boring lifeless team. The qb is god awful and can’t throw the ball more than 5 yards in the air.
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u/MarcusPaigesLastShot 1d ago
But what I don’t get is why people are still buying up tickets. Intuitively, I know it’s a combo of Belichick intrigue, relative high wealth of the alumni/surrounding area, and relatively small stadium size. But why buy the tix if you are going to leave?
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u/FunnyPuzzleheaded594 2d ago
The only reason you hire him is to attract top talent. We aren’t. I get football is a money driver, but spend that money on getting basketball back to elite every year and then worry about football. UNC is nothing without basketball.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball 2d ago
Football money drives everything. We have to get football in order for basketball to survive. Sec teams are throwing couch change at their basketball and making massive improvements
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
You hire him to build a culture and program as we leave the acc for the sec.
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u/calilregit1 2d ago
UNC has a number of high-placed administrators and supporters who are consumed with their own presumed influence. Belichick would be the last person to appease them.
Then there are the fans that either don’t appreciate his coaching acumen or just think trashing him makes them morally or intellectually superior. Their comments literally add no value.
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u/sonofgildorluthien 2d ago
I didn't have any expectations of them winning today against ND, I was fairly satisfied with their performance in light of who they were playing.
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u/Golf_Nut1965 1d ago
ND staff made it closer by going for it when they should have took a field goal on the 3 yard line. They would have been up 24 - 7 kicking off to a reeling UNC team with no momentum
Instead, they go for it, get stopped and give all the momentum to UNC for about a quarter. It was not until mid 3rd that they wrestled it back
Point being the game was not as close as the score indicated due to that mid game coaching blunder
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u/Joe_Immortan 1d ago
I tend to agree but it’s not really showing up where it matters: wins and losses.
And the media coverage lately can’t be ignored. All the off-the-field intangibles for the program couldn’t be worse. The news coverages has been embarrassing and the play, while improved, hasn’t been good enough to make people overlook it
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u/bpheazye 2d ago
This is silly. Of course people care. We were down like 17 with 5 minutes left in the pouring rain. Everyone's going to leave. Every fan base would have that reaction.
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u/JakobNarbei 2d ago
We've paid Belichick almost 25 million to coach this team in less than a year and a half. He's gone from rock bottom to one step above rock bottom and I'm supposed to praise him? Most out of touch article I've ever read in my life.
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u/Feartheezebras 2d ago
Dude we held the number 3 team in the country to a tight game with a mid, at best, qb. If we had Drake Maye, Mitch Tribuski, or Sam Howell on this team, we would be top 5 in the nation. Our defense, while not perfect, is leagues better than any defense we ever had under Mack. With Petrino, we are still scoring points, even with Billy out there as a liability. If we can snag a decent qb in the portal or out of HS, we are in a good position.
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u/Round-Dog-5314 2d ago
I’ve noticed improvement as well. The haters are coming out and taking their shots. I say give BB a chance just like any other new coach.
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u/TrustInRoy 2d ago
$12.5 million for Belichick's staff this season
$10 million for Belichick this season
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
And this year we’ve played 2 teams who pay their coaches and rosters more.
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u/TrustInRoy 1d ago
And unlike Belichick and his constantly resigning staff, those other guys are worth it.
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u/JoeWillyBob 2d ago
Yeah, we hear you. Mack left the roster devoid of talent. Belichick isn't a miracle worker, he still needs time to bring in talented players to develop. But somehow the bar is different for Belichick than any other second year head coach. Just because you're paying him $10M doesn't mean you can expect him to win immediately, right?
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u/DrBDDS 2d ago
Belichick has six effing Super Bowls. Now, it’s true he can’t ride Brady’s jock to greatness here, but holy crap you’d think he’d back into a shitty bowl with our schedule last year in an incredibly weak conference…. Nah, keep drinking the Kool Aid. Look around you at what dook, Wake, and Virginia did with far less. This has been a humiliating experience. Take off the blinders…
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u/JoeWillyBob 1d ago
Butch Davis was 4-8 in his first year at UNC. It was obvious he had us on a great path before he got canned. Belichick appears on a similar trajectory. You can’t expect first year coaches to inherit terrible teams and just suddenly be good. I’m sorry but it just doesn’t work that way. Your expectations are unrealistic.
I give Dickert a lot of credit, he looks like the real deal and what he is doing at Wake is impressive. That being said, I’d be surprised if Wake becomes a perennial top 25 team. I think that seems like a reasonable bar for UNC. Duke is decent, and UVA got smoked 38-7 by FSU yesterday so not sure they show an example of a program on a positive, upward trajectory. UNC has all the signs of being much better in the coming years as their young talent develops.
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u/Responsible_Fan8665 1d ago
Butch coached in a era where you could only turn over the roster with recruits not transfers
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u/TrustInRoy 2d ago
We're spending more than $20 mill on him and the staff. We're in the era where you can buy a good team in a single offseason.
There is no positive spin here. People are hoping we can squeak out 6 wins this season.
He's not winning. He's not bringing in top talent. His staff is resigning and going to rehab. His girlfriend is a headache. He started a fight with the Patriots last season that prevented caused UNC to distance itself from Drake Maye while he was having a MVP caliber season. Players are getting arrested. He's 74 years old.
Heck the QB we had last season is having a much better year than the guy Bill and Lombardi replaced him with.
Had the Trustees not went behind our ADs back and got Belichick, we'd have Coach Sumrall and a winning record right now.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
You have no idea how much money it takes to build a football program. We aren’t spending it. We have a $23mm roster. Clemson is around $30mm. ND is over $40mm.
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u/TrustInRoy 1d ago
So take half the money we wasted on Belichick and his staff, and we'd be over $30 million on the roster
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u/JoeWillyBob 2d ago
You mention the staff pay again. Again, how does that matter if the team has limited talent among the upperclassmen?
And can we buy a good team in a single offseason? Do we have that kind of money? Can you give me some comparable examples of other teams that bought “an entire good team” in an offseason without developing some of their own players too?
We brought in an objectively good freshman class this past year. It was Belichick’s first full class. Give those guys 3 years and you’re going to see results. They are showing success with player development with the older guys they have. This team is objectively showing significant improvement, and this years team would handily beat last years team.
Sumrall seems to be a good coach, but he is a head case. You’re certain we have gotten him anyway? And that he would have a winning record inheriting a roster that was completely devoid of talent?
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u/DrBDDS 1d ago
You cannot build a team with freshmen developing any more in the portal/NIL era. Period. If these freshmen are worth a damn, the big boys will outbid us and buy them away.
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u/JoeWillyBob 1d ago
Says who? Other schools are still bringing in freshmen and developing them. And you say the big boys will buy our players away, yet you expect us to have the money to buy other team’s players?
I also don’t buy the narrative that all players are mercenaries looking for a payday. We retained basically every player we wanted last year aside Thompson and the two DTs who left. We had players like Shipp and MAJ that were coveted by other schools. I’m more inclined to think that freshman could come to UNC, fall in love with Chapel Hill and our amazing university, make great friends on the team, realize this is a great place to learn football and be developed, and want to build something here. Expecting everyone is just looking to jump ship at first opportunity is a really negative projection of human nature.
It simply just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s unreasonable. You can’t pull the rug out on a coach in their second year. Growth is happening and we appear to be on the right track. I can’t decide if a segment of our fan base feels this way because they have unreasonable expectations due to Belichick’s track record, or if it’s a product of our society expecting instant gratification and immediate results and not understanding it takes time to lay a foundation and build something.
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u/DrBDDS 1d ago
I’m willing to give grace and leniency to the next coach for the dumpster fire they’ll inherit. There’s nothing you can say that will make me give any to BB. He came in thinking he knew it all and screwed an already bad situation even more. Screw him.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
What did he say or do to make you think this? He inherited a massive dumpster fire
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u/TrustInRoy 2d ago
We are wasting so much money on Belichick and his staff. We absolutely could have bought a loaded roster, and and have gotten a younger hungrier coaching staff.
John Preyer absolutely screwed over UNC football.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
Where are we getting the money for a more loaded roster?
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u/TrustInRoy 1d ago
From the $22.5 million we are wasting on Belichick and his staff each year. How was that not clear.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
No, that isn’t clear. You still have to pay another staff. And that staff has to inspire the donors. Belichick got them to pony up significantly from what we were spending. And it’s still not even top 30 spend.
So break it down for me. Who are we getting for substantially cheaper? How much money will that free up for NIL? I need specifics.
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u/TrustInRoy 1d ago
Coach Sumrall's staff was going to be significantly cheaper.
It's hilarious you are caping for the dumbass decision John Preyer made. UNC was a hair away from being prosecuted for breaking the law due to Preyer's actions, and you're defending it.
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u/PercentageHot7485 2d ago
He disgraced our university and program. We wronged Mack, a true Tar Heel. The transfer era is dispiriting. What do you expect?
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
Mack brown is not a true Tar Heel. Mack brown is about Mack brown. 2 weeks ago he was in Austin wearing orange
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u/youwascalywabbit 2d ago
Because they could be this good or better with a coach half the age, at 1/3 the salary, and with 1/16 of the baggage.
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u/Roux_My_Burgundy 1d ago
Except historically, this isn’t true. Every freaking coach has failed at UNC. It’s us not them. We need a reset
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u/Golf_Nut1965 1d ago
BB would fail even harder under the traditional college system but now that it’s just semi-pro he will be able to field a slightly better version of failure.
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u/Scottie-man 1d ago
Moving on from Kitchens and getting Petrino (a questionable person but great football mind) helped y’all a ton. University did him a solid by getting Mike Lombardi and his son out of there.
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u/Fine_Eagle4501 1d ago
Two myths:
“The national attention brought to the program was brief and minimal”
Nine months of endless national press declaring “BB is assembling the 33rd NFL team”
Mack left the roster barren
ACC recruiting breakdown:
2021 3rd highest rated class
2022 2nd highest rated class
2023 4th highest rated class
2024 4th highest rated class
(Duke, Wake, UVA nowhere in sight of those rankings)
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u/CoachCDaddy 1d ago
Hey trust me I’m noticing they are better. As a Pitt guy I’m nervous about Saturday. Especially since we lost our starting qb. They got some talented receiving threats this year and the defense isn’t quite Swiss cheese this year.
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u/stebak52 1d ago
We can only do what is left, so let’s not cry about Clemson & ND, but let’s beat Pitt and Duke, and then NC State too. I liked Mac but he always lost the end of the season. I don’t like BB, but if he ends the season on a winning streak, I’m happy to bless him. Give him a chance, as others have said, we’ve got a good enough team to finish this season well.
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u/LMLBullCity 19h ago
I’ll be more interested again when Belichick is gone and his whole ick is off the Tar Heels.
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u/MrJohnnyDangerously 2d ago
The shitshow circus he brought to town for $10 million dollars more to get worse on the field and a laughingstock off of it....
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u/thebasisofabassist 1d ago
The tickets for my daughter's family week there were 80 bucks with the discount. To watch them play fuckin Syracuse. They've lost their minds.
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u/MulberryNo5246 2d ago
We are definitely a much improved team this year, anyone looking at us objectively can see that - if we had this team with last years schedule, we’d have easily made a bowl game.
Hoping we can scrape 6-6 this year, would be a heck of an achievement with the schedule.