Things aren’t going great for Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
That was always a possibility, because Belichick has never been a college football coach before, but this 2-2 start has been brutal for the Tar Heels. They’re coming off a 34-9 loss to UCF, and in Week 1 they were outmatched by TCU, 48-14.
In fact, the only two wins Belichick has picked up so far are against Charlotte of the American Conference and FCS Richmond.
Belichick’s start has not inspired confidence so far, but it’s not just the wins and losses. According to legendary college football head coach Urban Meyer, the product on the field is just plain bad.
“I watched their videotape or some tape on it. They’re worse on tape than I thought they would be,” Meyer said on a recent episode of “The Triple Option” podcast (h/t On3). I’m not saying just — because you can say, ‘We have really bad players.’ Okay, you brought in 70 new people.”
Meyer’s point is that even though Belichick is in his first year with the program, the NIL and transfer portal era has allowed the former NFL head coach to basically create the kind of roster he wanted from the get-go.
That’s not even considering the fact that he brought in former NFL scout and executive Michael Lombardi to help him build the team.
Belichick had an opportunity to build North Carolina his way
Belichick and Lombardi brought in 42 players via the transfer portal and had a transfer class that was ranked No. 8 in the nation, according to 247Sports, so it’s not like they started this season with a bare cupboard.
The Tar Heels will have to start beating some legitimate opponents in order for Belichick to build any confidence in his program. That’s possible, of course. Speaking of cupboards, this is a coach who has several Lombardi Trophies in his.
Ultimately, though, Meyer, for one, doesn’t seem confident that this will work out for Belichick or the Tar Heels. Right now, it’s a mess on both sides of the ball.
“But I’m seeing things. Just misfits on defense,” Meyer explained. “Which means as a linebacker takes on a block, he’s supposed to send that to the unblocked safety. So, if the safety’s inside, I’m taking on the blocker with my inside shoulder to force it to him. It’s not happening. Then, on the offensive side, it’s a trainwreck. So, I don’t know. I don’t think it ends well. Hate to say that.”
