The shining light through the malaise that has become Carolina Athletics over the last three years has been Larry Fedora and his football program.

Until the last two hapless games of the 2014 season.

Fedora was hired in late 2011 to lead the Tar Heels back to respectability off the field and continued (if not added) success on the field. He seemed exactly the right choice, playing an exciting brand of football and showing a tough-minded approach that was looking ahead – not behind at the mess he inherited.

After getting off to a surprising 8-4 start in 2012, with most of the roster left over from the Butch Davis Era, Fedora’s program has been in steady decline. It may be at the bottom of the funnel, with all of his inherited players now gone and the loss of 15 scholarships from the NCAA probation taking its biggest toll over the last three recruiting classes.

Right now, however, the program is in shambles following the disheartening defeat to N.C. State and the embarrassing loss to Rutgers in the Quick Lane Bowl, after which all Fedora could say was “It is what it is.”

What it is doesn’t look very good from this vantage point, especially when half the team accused the other half of basically mailing it in at Detroit’s Ford Field. That kind of stuff should never happen and,  if so, never get out of the locker room.

Rutgers is an average football team at best, and the Tar Heels made the Scarlett Knights look like a Big Ten powerhouse with two rushers going for more than 300 yards and a no-name quarterback looking like Gary (Super) Nova.

Fans are splintered over whether a 6-6 regular-season record should earn a bowl bid, but all eligible ACC teams must accept bids so the payoffs can go into the bowl pool and be distributed to conference members. Plus, the athletic director and head coach get bonuses equal to one- twelfth of their annual salary from the university.

I am assuming that Fedora has already promised his bonus to the charity of his choice. Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham should do the same.

Right now, Fedora’s philosophy looks highly flawed. His best rusher this season was quarterback Marquise Williams, who after getting game-planned and gang-tackled looked slower and tired and finally gave the ball up to highly touted RBs T.J. Logan and Elijah Hood. Time of possession and total yards were pretty even, but two first-half turnovers helped Rutgers build a 23-0 lead.

Two early drives into the red zone resulted in field goal attempts, one that appeared to be a pathetically executed fake and the other blocked; which brings up the absence of senior punter and holder Tommy Hibbard, the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal kicking game for the Tar Heels.

After Hibbard refused to finish a running drill a week before the team left for Detroit, Fedora did not announce his suspension until just before the game. His replacement, walk-on Durham sophomore Joey Mangili, averaged less than 25 yards in two punts before giving way to kick-off man Nick Weiler. Mangili was also the holder on whatever happened on the first field goal, and the second attempt by Chapel Hill’s Thomas Moore which was blocked.

All this had critics near and far crowing about a lack of preparation by the Tar Heels. And sophomore wide receiver Ryan Switzer put a cherry on top by saying  “we will find players who want to grind with us” and get serious during pre-season, in-season and post-season practices.

The ongoing question about Fedora and Carolina football is defense. At Southern Miss, it didn’t seem to matter since the Golden Eagles outscored everyone during their 12-win season that got Fedora hired by UNC. In the ACC, it’s a different story because opposing offenses are much better. And with the worst defense in school history, keeping the ball and moving the chains became even more of a priority.

In Fedora’s three seasons, the Tar Heels have regressed from a point differential of plus-14 in 2012 to plus-8 in 2013 to minus-6 in 2014. In total yardage differential, it went from plus-1152 in 2012; to plus-293 in 2013; to minus-885 this season. In other words, the offense was affected by the defense staying on the field too long and giving up way too many points and yards.

Fedora has already jettisoned veteran defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, and depending on who he brings in as the new DC more changes may be coming. The good news is that the Tar Heels are losing only a handful of seniors, but the bad news is that those returning players need to be much improved by next season.

In short, the honeymoon period is over for Fedora, no longer the golden boy of an otherwise-tarnished athletic department. From a turbulent training camp incident, to a rotating quarterback system that failed, to the otherwise reliable Hibbard screwing up and missing his last college game, the 2014 Carolina football season was hardly exemplary in its perception and execution.

For my money, rising red-shirt sophomore Mitch Trubisky needs to play more, if not start, next season. Despite the gaudy numbers and phenomenal plays Marquise made during his junior year, he was too much of the offense. Trubisky appears to be a better all-around athlete and passer who can get everyone more involved.

Don’t be surprised if Fedora re-opens every position on the depth chart during spring practice. A major reset is in order.

Starting at the top.