Since North Carolina was drubbed 48-14 by TCU in Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut, the critics have been lining up against the Tar Heels’ new head coach.
What many speculated ahead of time came true in just one night, as the Horned Frogs reclaimed their respect and crashed Belichick’s party — one that Chapel Hill and ESPN had built up for weeks.
FS1’s Colin Cowherd was among those quick to pile on, pointing to Belichick’s coaching staff as a glaring weakness before the game even kicked off.
“It’s like a friends and family coaching staff,” Cowherd said. “There’s three Belichicks. Mike Lombardi and his son. And then there’s Belichick’s girlfriend. Then there’s Jamie Collins, who’s never been a coach but he played with Belichick...
“I saw that with Bill Belichick at the end of New England. He didn’t hire the best coaches available. He hired the guys he was most comfortable with. Young Bill Belichick would have fired this Bill Belichick.”
There’s certainly familiarity on Belichick’s staff. His son Steve is defensive coordinator, while Brian Belichick coaches defensive backs. Michael Lombardi serves as general manager, with his son Matt handling quarterbacks. Jamie Collins, who spent six seasons playing under Belichick in New England, is now North Carolina’s inside linebackers coach — his first coaching job at any level.
MORE: TCU trolls UNC, Bill Belichick at every turn after embarrassing debut loss
Then there’s offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, a holdover from Mack Brown’s staff. Cowherd compared the setup to how Belichick handled the Patriots’ offense in 2022, when he made defensive coach Matt Patricia and special teams coach Joe Judge co-offensive coordinators.
“You have to take offense seriously. Freddie Kitchens is the OC, he’s already on staff. So why put in any effort into going out and getting the best OC on the market?” Cowherd said sarcastically.
The results backed up the criticism. Counting his stints with the Cleveland Browns, Patriots and now North Carolina, Belichick-coached teams without Tom Brady have averaged just 19.8 points per game. On Monday, UNC managed only 14.
The Tar Heels mustered just 222 yards of total offense, 10 first downs, and went 1-for-13 on third down. They averaged 1.8 yards per carry on the ground and turned the ball over three times.
And that was only one side of the ball. Across the board, Belichick’s UNC debut was a disaster.