Bill Belichick, the legendary NLF coach, had a miserable start to his college football coaching career. He took the North Carolina Tar Heels to the Orange Bowl but lost 48-14 to a strong TCU team. The game was played in front of a sold-out Kenan Stadium. Belichick’s squad was put under a brutal strain, as they had to watch their opponents gain 542 yards. The defeat has sparked discussions about whether Belichick can transition effectively from professional coaching to the college level, especially given the high expectations that accompanied his arrival.
The matchup against TCU had Belichick particularly downcast. To this day—in all 511 NFL games—he had never seen his defenses score so few points. His longtime, nationally-praised accomplishments in the professional playing field – and the success there – are notable. This loss exposes the difficulties inherent to a multi-year restore at North Carolina. Now 73, Belichick is up against Father Time as he opens a new chapter in his storied coaching career. He’s promised to not squander this new opportunity.
Belichick’s arrival in North Carolina came after over two decades in the National Football League. There, he instituted a strict discipline and focused them as he implemented a complete overhaul of the football program. He inherited a club that barely avoided relegation last season and has completely rebuilt the team, bringing in 70 new players—a clear change of approach. While his strategy has impressed the league, his handling of distractions and the team’s overall focus or lack thereof have led to criticism.
In that inaugural matchup, a rookie Belichick made some unusual game-day decisions. During game week, he wouldn’t release a depth chart. This created a huge gap for ESPN in terms of details around what the player’s role would be. With little technical transparency, it seems this resulted in the team playing with a lot of disorganization on the field.
“They just outplayed us, they outcoached us and they were better than we were. That’s all there is to it,” – Bill Belichick
That was nearly game, set, match for Belichick. TCU spared him the embarrassment of him yielding 50 points by opting to kneel the ball in a goal-to-go situation. This decision laid bare that there is a yawning chasm between the two programs. That moment served to highlight the long road ahead as Belichick tries to return North Carolina to prominence.
Belichick’s ambition when he got to Chapel Hill was indeniable. He vowed to reshape college football in his image. His early findings have raised a lot of eyebrows. Can he successfully repurpose his NFL game plan to fit the college?
Jim Phillips, pictured here, has been a refreshing leader in college athletics. He notably compared Belichick’s plight to what’s happening at Colorado with Deion Sanders in a recent episode.
“It’s a little like the Deion [Sanders] thing at Colorado,” – Jim Phillips
Even Belichick had trouble in his first tune-up. This just goes to show how competitive college football has gotten, and how closely it’s starting to mirror the professional game. The landscape is wildly changing, and being able to pivot on a dime is key to winning.
That stubbornness has caused Belichick to stick with a highly ineffective offensive strategy, even in the face of failure. After the game, he showed that he is serious about righting the ship.
“We just keep working and keep grinding away,” – Bill Belichick
His philosophy is all about the little things—focusing on those moments that add up and lead to greatness. In his recent book, he wrote, “Big moments are won by winning all the small moments that come before them.” That careful approach will be necessary as he walks an entirely different — and probably trickier — path of reestablishing a college football program while the expectations go up on him.