Bill Belichick deserves a chance to finish the job.
Coming off their most disappointing loss of the season, the Tar Heels have shown enough to believe Belichick really can coach college football.
They may not win their last two games to earn bowl eligibility, but it is a trade-off at this point for that to happen or not to happen.
Being invited to a bowl is a great treat for the players, and it does give them and the coaches those extra practices to get ready for the game and to do some early preparation for next year.
No bowl game means current players can make transfer portal decisions earlier, and coaches can dedicate full time to finish recruiting from both the high school class of 2026 and the portal.
While the losses and lack of execution on the field have yet to disappear, there has been enough progress made especially on defense to indicate Belichick’s system is now ingrained into the UNC program. He clearly expects them to play better than they did at Wake Forest and the earlier defeats, and they have two more games to confirm they can turn around the dud in Winston-Salem.
Keep in mind that the close losses to Cal and Virginia are the difference between being 4-6 today and 6-4.
Not all of the publicity has been positive, of course, but Carolina football has never received such attention from the local, regional and national media. If you believe the only bad publicity is no publicity, UNC has a net gain so far.
Proving the investment in him and his high-paid staff worthy will take more than one season. And if the university remains behind him as it appears to be, year two will be a much better indicator of the Carolina football future. If he’s the pure coach that we all think he is, Belichick will continue fixing what is broken and moving forward.
The question lingers whether his name and reputation can develop and produce the number of good players it takes to build an ACC and national contender. The team seems to be solidly behind him and, if so, 2026 should demonstrate marked improvement.
The UNC hierarchy, despite how flawed the hiring process was, remains behind him and is willing to support whatever changes he decides to make in the off season. And it will reduce the amount of money guaranteed in multi-year contracts.
Has the Carolina brand and reputation been affected by unfulfilled expectations? Of course, with such a high-profile hire there comes close coverage and serious scrutiny from the media and dissension among the alumni and fan base that was expecting much more.
Belichick seems undeterred and insists he ignores the outside noise and that he is doggedly determined to move onto the next game. However this season ends, he has earned the chance to continue that journey for at least a second.
That’s my opinion, and you can certainly continue to have yours.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
