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Bill Belichick’s UNC Tenure Unravels Amid Scandals, Losses
Photo Courtesy of UNC Athletics
No one has won more Super Bowls than Bill Belichick, who has won eight, including six as a head coach. So, when he and the New England Patriots parted ways after the 2024 season, it seemed like an NFL team would scoop him up right away with multiple head coaching jobs open. Instead, Bellichick was shut out of a new NFL job and became the head coach at North Carolina. At the time, it was a curious move, especially because he was shunned by all those pro teams. Now we are starting to learn why.
Since Coach Bellichick has taken over at UNC, his general manager, Michael Lombardi, resigned after an investigation by the university into Lombardi’s conduct, reported by ESPN, which includes the way female staffers were hired and fired.
If that’s not embarrassing enough, Bellichick’s son Steve has now resigned as defensive coordinator in the midst of another investigation by the university. WRAL in Raleigh reported there are allegations of drug use by Steve Bellichick and that he may have provided drugs to a player. Bill Bellichick was asked about these investigations after Saturday’s 28-20 loss to Clemson and refused to answer.
“I’m just focused on the Clemson game. It just ended ten minutes ago.” After being asked a follow-up question, again Bellichick gave a terse response. “Yeah, I just talked about that.”
It’s a horrible look for a sure-fire Hall of Fame NFL coach, and UNC has some tough decisions to make moving forward. It would help UNC hold the line if the on-the-field product was good, but it is not.
The Tar Heels blew a two-touchdown lead against Clemson, and Bellichick had few answers in his post-game press conference. “In the end, they just made a few more plays than we did.” Bellichick is now 6-9 in his second season in Chapel Hill, and the vultures are circling. It would have been insane to think that the university would fire a man with Bellichick’s resume just three games into season number two, but his tenure is becoming an embarrassment to a proud school.
GATORS SURGE
Florida looked good in beating two subpar opponents but looked really good in winning at Auburn 44-39. The game wasn’t as close as the final score. Jadan Baugh is running roughshod over anyone who gets in his way (162 yards and three touchdowns against Auburn), and the passing game has been efficient.
New Coach John Sumrall is downplaying his team’s success and mocking the fact the Gators are a slight favorite at home against Ole Miss this weekend. You could make a case for whichever team wins this weekend in Gainesville to be the number one team in the land based on the long-running criteria of this column: “Who have you beaten, and who have you lost to?” For Florida, it would be Ole Miss and at Auburn. For Ole Miss, it would be Louisville, LSU, and at Florida.
I complained last week about the cream puffs that many Big 10 teams are scheduling out of conference, and I really do not want to rank them. Penn State, Indiana, and Nebraska are all undefeated, but their wins are terrible. Southern Cal is 4-0, but their wins are over San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana, and they barely survived Rutgers this week. I’d rather give credit to a team like Duke or UCLA that at least scheduled a Power 4 out-of-conference matchup. Beat someone to earn your way there.
TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 21
- TEXAS (3-0) Ohio State win is the best of the season
- OLE MISS (3-0) Will be tough to sustain, but Coach Golding proved his worth in win over LSU
- MICHIGAN (3-0) Oklahoma win is third best so far, so here they are
- NOTRE DAME (3-0) Wisconsin win looks better this week
- WEST VIRGINIA (3-0) Went on the road and stifled a good UVA team
- MIAMI (3-0) Struggled late 3rd quarter and 4th but still handled Wake Forest on the road
- FLORIDA (3-0) Get Ole Miss next and would be top 3 with a win
- MISSOURI (3-0) On the strength of their win at Kansas
- MISSISSIPPI STATE (3-0) That’s wins at Minnesota and at South Carolina
- DUKE (3-0) Win at Illinois last week, thumped Sanford this week
- UCLA (3-0) Dominated at Cal in week 1
- TEXAS TECH (3-0) Barely survived Houston, but I have a high opinion of the Cougars
- ALABAMA (3-0) Road win at Kentucky and scored 50 on FSU
- BYU (3-0) Home win over Arizona is their best
- IOWA (3-0) Best win is home over rival Iowa State
- VIRGINIA TECH (3-0) James Franklin era off to a great start winning at Maryland
- TENNESSEE (3-0) On strength of margin in road win over Georgia Tech
- UTAH (3-0) Blasting Arkansas looks worse this week than last
- PITT (3-0) Two middle wins, UCF and Syracuse
- GEORGIA (3-0) Only Power 4 win is Arkansas, but they look the part
- KANSAS ST (3-0) Best win is drumming Washington State. Get Cincinnati next in “winner-stays-ranked” game
- CINCINNATI (3-0) Best win is over Boston College so may not stay long
- LOUISVILLE (2-1) Only lost by 3 to Ole Miss, and huge win over SMU
- OHIO STATE (2-1) Have beaten no one, but lead Texas most of the way in road loss
- HOUSTON (2-1) Let a major upset get away at Texas Tech, but proved they are a Big 12 contender
