One of the most anticipated games of the 2025 season was supposed to be Clemson traveling to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina. It had been labeled a battle between coaches who had achieved greatness at the highest level. Only now, Bill Belichick had come down to Dabo Swinney’s level.
Instead, Saturday’s ACC matchup lost all the preseason hype, with the teams combining for five losses and both unranked.
By halftime, Swinney was still proving he belongs in the profession, while Belichick was on the wrong end of things, trailing 35-3 and staring at yet another beating by a Power Four opponent.
“Bill Belichick has faced three Power Four opponents, all of them unranked, and his North Carolina team has now been outscored by a combined 117-26 in less than 10 quarters,” The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman said. “The Tar Heels just look so lost, like they’re getting worse each time out.”
UNC’s first two losses came against Big 12 foes TCU and UCF, both by 25 points or more. According to CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah, if the Clemson score holds, Belichick will have as many 25-point losses in his three Power Four games as UNC had in its last 76 games, spanning eight seasons.
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, never one to hold back, said Belichick has to get out as soon as possible.
“I would not hold it against Belichick if he just quit at halftime and was never seen again. Somebody has to get him the hell out of college football asap,” Portnoy said.
Belichick’s current contract with North Carolina runs through 2029. If the school were to fire him before 2027, it would owe him $30 million guaranteed under his deal. If he left for the NFL or elsewhere — not that there would be many takers — his buyout is only $1 million.
Whatever the case, North Carolina appears stuck with Belichick and his $10 million annual salary. Belichick doesn’t seem like the type to just walk away in the middle of a season or a game, as Portnoy joked, and the Tar Heels may not be able to afford to fire him.