The clock was ticking down in Winston-Salem when Bill Belichick decided to embarrass himself.
It was needless: Wake Forest seemed content to let time expire with the score 21-12 in favor of the Demon Deacons. Instead, Belichick called a timeout on fourth and goal, effectively forcing Wake to run another play. The Deacons, predictably, scored on that next play, making the score 28-12.
When asked by Andrew Jones of TarHeel247 about the decision, Belichick offered little insight.
“We were trying to stop them,” Belichick said. “The game wasn’t over. I didn’t know what they were gonna do.”
In Belichick’s mind, a play on the opposite 2-yard line with 26 seconds left could potentially swing what was a two-possession game. Belichick seemed surprised to even be asked the question, and would never admit he’d made a mistake and humiliated his players for no reason other than an inexplicable belief in an improbable comeback.
The head coach spoke for barely more than five minutes after the loss, his voice never rising over his familiar mumble. He then shuffled out of the cramped visiting media room, which at Wake Forest is little more than a closet.
In stepped receiver Jordan Shipp. So many times this season, Shipp, a North Carolina native and a Mack Brown recruit, has been the voice of reason when the football program seemed to be teetering on the edge. Saturday night was no different.
The sophomore took the microphone and showed all the accountability his head coach didn’t. He spoke of a postgame locker room in which he complimented the defense on its performance, saying UNC’s offense needed to pick up the slack.
“I say week in, week out: we have a very, very, very talented defense A top defense in the country,” said Shipp. “And they don’t get the honor that they should get because of the offense. And that’s something we’ve got to own up to. There’s no hiding from it. There’s no more ducking it. As an offense, we played poorly, especially in the red zone. There’s no reason for avoiding it or ducking it; you see it on tape. We’ll go back to the drawing board and work on it and fix it.”
When asked why he was so vocal, Shipp said the team was in need of a positive voice.
“Somebody’s gotta tell it to ‘em,” he said. “I feel like it was good to have my boys hear that and let them know that they played a really, really good game. For us to kick field goals tonight and them only score 28 points? Come on, man. We’ve gotta do better than that. And I told them, ‘Offense, we’ve gotta look in the mirror and figure out what’s going on.’ We’ve gotta look in the mirror, own up to it and finish these last two games. Because the defense is playing lights-out. Nothing but respect for those boys.”
How is it that Shipp, all of 20 years old, showed more dignity and grace after a loss than his 73-year-old head coach, supposedly the greatest of all time? How is it that the football program has to rely on someone who can’t legally rent a car to be its spokesman? Compare this to what transpired late Friday night, when Belichick released a statement on social media claiming he definitely wasn’t interested in the New York Giants’ head coaching job.
The Athletic quickly reported Belichick was never on the Giants’ radar.
In any case, UNC now stares down the barrel of a season without a bowl game for the first time since 2018. At 4-6, Carolina will need to beat Duke and NC State in the final two games to qualify for the postseason. The Blue Devils and Wolfpack are both superior teams and, for all of their warts, appear to have head coaches who better know how to handle themselves in front of a microphone.
Shipp said he and the players need to look in the mirror to improve. But it’s the head coach who’s in need of some self-reflection.
Featured image via Associated Press/John Raoux
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