Most believed Bill Belichick’s debut at North Carolina could go one of two ways. Either the former Patriots head coach would prove he is truly the greatest of all time, or it would turn into an unmitigated disaster.
It was the latter.
The Tar Heels were crushed 48-14 by TCU, and Belichick himself made unwanted history. No Belichick-coached team had ever allowed 48 points in a game before Monday night’s beating by the Horned Frogs.
The 34-point loss was also larger than any defeat under former UNC coach Mack Brown and marked the most points ever allowed by the Tar Heels in a season opener, according to CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah.
“You know, we need to do a better job all the way around — coaching, playing, all three phases of the game, just wasn’t up to what it needs to be,” Belichick told reporters after the game. “I know we’re a lot better than that. So we’ll need to work on those things and show it on Saturday . . . but give TCU credit, they came in and did a good job, and they were clearly the better team tonight. They deserved to win, and they did it decisively.”
It was vintage Belichick — stoic, measured coach-speak. But there’s no denying this one falls on him and his staff to fix, if they can. As Fox Sports’ RJ Young pointed out, Belichick and general manager Michael Lombardi have no one to blame but themselves.
“In college football, there is no salary cap. No free agents to pick up in the middle of the season. No draft to help a bad team get better,” Young wrote. “In college football, you not only evaluate players but recruit them.
“This team is one you and former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi put together. If the roster is bad, there’s no one else to blame for that, just as there’s no one else to blame for this utterly embarrassing performance from the Tar Heels tonight but Belichick.”
Now, as Belichick said afterward, the focus shifts “on to Charlotte” — UNC’s Week 2 opponent and the first road test of the new era under the six-time Super Bowl champion.