It has been an ugly start for North Carolina under first-time college football head coach and NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick, and now people around the scene are making their feelings known.
“It’s an unstructured mess,” WRAL News was told about the culture at North Carolina under Belichick by a source. “There’s no culture, no organization. It’s a complete disaster.”
The Tar Heels opened the season with a 48-14 loss at home to TCU. After a win on the road against Charlotte (20-3) and a win at home against Richmond (41-6), North Carolina was blown out on the road by UCF (34-9) and then at home by Clemson (38-10) following a bye, dropping it to 2-3.
The report notes that Belichick hasn’t “had a conversation with most of the guys on defense,” who “don’t even have his number.”
The Tar Heels are last in the ACC in total yards (264.8 per game) and points (18.8 per game). On the other side of the ball, North Carolina is 12th in the ACC in opponent total yards (373.2 per game) and 13th in opponent points (28.3 per game).
“It’s all starting at the top, and the boys are being affected. I don’t fault the players; I fault the leadership that created this toxic environment,” a parent of a current North Carolina player told the outlet. “There’s an individualistic mindset. The boys are young, and they are feeding into it.”
The report noted that Belichick-recruited players – and those who previously played for defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, the head coach’s son, at Washington – and their families are getting “preferential parking” for themselves and their families, while others don’t.
“There’s been no communication with coaches and parents, period,” a parent of a current North Carolina player said. “None, zero, zilch. Not one email from a coach, one text, phone call, nothing.”
At the same time, the report mentioned that a Tar Heels’ football staffer doesn’t believe the locker room is “divided “or that the staff is “dysfunctional,” while Belichick’s one-on-one coaching has been commended.
Of course, prior to taking over at Chapel Hill in December and taking a year off from coaching, Belichick racked up a 266-121 regular-season record and 30-12 postseason record as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000-23, highlighted by winning six Super Bowls.
Following another bye, North Carolina has a road matchup against California on Oct. 17.
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