The football feedback is rolling in, and it’s not very good.
One alumnus asked how Mike Lombardi qualified to be the highest-paid general manager in college football, making half-million more than the next highest. And if Carolina wouldn’t have a better record for the $5 million Mack Brown was making, which is half Bill Belichick’s salary.
Calling it a failed experiment, he wants to know if the Trustees who pushed for the hiring and the biggest donors who are in bed with Belichick and Lombardi are delusional.
He suggests we watch all the conference championship games this weekend and compare those big boy teams to the Tar Heels this season, calling it a joke and saying no one has the chutzpah to admit it is the emperor’s new clothes about Belichick.
He likens it to the weekend golfer buying the most expensive driver on the market and expecting it to improve his golf score. And wondering if Bubba Cunningham, who had very little to do with the hire having schadenfreude now that he is in a new role with the chancellor, Lee Roberts.
Another says UNC needs a coach between 40 and 55 and not one leaning toward The Cedars luxury senior digs in Meadowmont. And what will big donors say when the Rams Club calls them for jack for coaches’ supplemental income fund and/or NIL money for football.
Will they do one more year of donations to the Belichick experiment that includes guaranteed contracts for Lombardi and the Belichick boys on the staff in year two. And what about renewing season tickets at the same inflated price once they get the letter in March?
Another says the Hoodie could catch lighting in a bottle in year two or three, but will be 75 or 76 and asks, “What do we do then?”
One harsher critic cites the discipline BB had in the NFL and points out 12 penalties against State and 11 the week before against Duke as proof that Belichick is making $10 million and is distracted.
And when donors realize there is no return for their investment, the trustees who hired him will be gone, and like the politic scene the damage to Carolina’s credibility will be huge and take years to repair.
He points out that whether it’s thumbs up or thumbs down next season, the hope may spring eternal but the money will dry up.
Yet another who has seen this movie before says the alumni and fan base will now turn to basketball, where Hubert Davis is no Dean Smith or Roy Williams and will be under tremendous pressure to produce a national championship contender in his fifth season or we may be looking for a new coach who wants twice the money.
This is what happens when you roll the dice on a big-name coach from the NFL who finds out that college football is a 12-month job requiring more research into prospects he doesn’t know.
Featured image via Associated Press/Karl DeBlaker
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.
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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.
