Belichick remains tight-lipped as UNC season ends in another loss: ‘I don’t have a recap’ | College football
Bill Belichick stood at the microphone in a crowded room of reporters. North Carolina’s season had just ended with a lopsided loss to a fierce close rival to cap a four-win season.
And the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach wasn’t really in the mood to talk about it. A little over four minutes, in fact.
“Look, the season just ended a few minutes ago, okay?” Belichick said after the 42-19 loss at NC State on Saturday night. “So now we’re going to move into the offseason. That’s what we’re going to do.”
UNC began the year with buzz and national attention, brimming with optimism — or maybe just hope — that one of the greatest coaches in NFL history could elevate the program in his first season as a college football coach. By the end of the season, Belichick had fielded a team that had more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins, while providing frequent servings of unwanted off-the-field headlines.
The final blow came in Raleigh, where the Wolfpack and coach Dave Doeren were all too eager to hold off the Tar Heels for a fifth straight year in front of a typically raucous crowd. And this one sent Belichick, 73, into the offseason with a final thud, armed with none of the positive evaluations that had followed modest gains demonstrated by close losses or victories against some of the ACC’s worst teams.
He also gave little insight into the message he gave to his first college team after a season of expectations ended in ugly fashion.
“I’ll keep my message to the team between me and the team,” Belichick said.
Struggles on the ground
The Tar Heels (4-8, 2-6) closed the season with three straight losses to state league opponents, first at Wake Forest and then at home against Duke last weekend.
It capped a season that saw the Tar Heels lose five games by 16 points or more, starting with a 48-14 loss to TCU on Labor Day — which had drawn ESPN’s College Gameday in Chapel Hill and countless headlines about Belichick’s arrival at the college level.
That was just the beginning of the troubles, with the opening month including blowout losses at UCF and at home to a Clemson team that would finish with its lowest win total in 15 years. All three of UNC’s wins against Bowl Subdivision programs came against teams with a combined record of 8-28 (Charlotte, Syracuse and Stanford), and the Tar Heels failed to make a bowl trip for the first time since 2018.
That hardly matches expectations that followed the school’s hiring of Belichick in a deal that included each of the first three seasons with a guaranteed $10 million in base and supplemental play, as well as high investments in the program for staff and elsewhere. That included general manager Michael Lombardi, who said the Tar Heels “consider themselves the 33rd [NFL] team” in their influence and their pro-heavy approach.
At the end?
“It’s hard to say one word,” wide receiver Jordan Shipp said when asked how he would describe the season. “Of course we didn’t expect the season to go like this. »
Hiccups off the field
The headlines weren’t just limited to match days.
There was Belichick banning scouts from the New England Patriots — the team he led to those six Super Bowls with Tom Brady — as part of his own acrimonious relationship with his former franchise.
There was the suspension of an assistant coach related to NCAA rule violations. The school released terse statements from Belichick and athletic director Bubba Cunningham reaffirming the marriage between Belichick and UNC, itself a sign of how rocky the first weeks of Belichick’s tenure had been.
There were midseason reports by WRAL TV on Raleigh painting a picture of behind-the-scenes unrest as well as several players being cited for speeding or reckless driving. And there was tabloid interest in Belichick’s relationship with his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, a frequent presence on the sidelines before games.
All of this generated fodder for opponents to hit on Belichick. And Belichick often fielded questions at news conferences that strayed from the sport he knows so well.
The players take the lead
Once Belichick met with reporters Saturday, he avoided any general questions about the season as a whole.
“We work as a team every week,” Belichick said. “I’m sorry I don’t have a season recap for you. I don’t, we didn’t.”
If anything, it let Shipp and linebacker Khmori House take the lead in responding to what went wrong and what’s next.
“We showed glimpses, but we just didn’t do enough to get some wins,” Shipp said, adding, “We know internally we’re not as bad as our record shows.”
Both took questions from reporters longer than Belichick, with Shipp speaking almost twice as long. This included asking House how he would describe this most unusual season.
“I would describe it as a roller coaster, ups and downs,” he said, “but a lesson.”
