New England Patriots - NESN.com
Bill Belichick is taking a lot of heat after his latest college football setback.
The former New England Patriots head coach hasn’t enjoyed much success on campus. A rough start to his North Carolina tenure continued when the Tar Heels lost 38-10 to Clemson on Saturday.
UNC fell to 2-3 following another embarrassing performance at Chapel Hill. After the game, CBS Sports analyst Aaron Taylor implored the ACC program to fire Belichick.
“Bill Belichick is not the right guy for this job,” Taylor said. “We’ve seen a bunch of NFL coaches come down and think that they’re going to create the ’33rd NFL team.’ Do we all remember that? This product on both sides of the football is a reflection of what’s going on in that office, and it’s just not good.
“They got to figure something out. Bill Belichick was a mistake. It’s not the answer, and they need to move on.”
As a six-time Super Bowl champion and the second-winningest head coach (playoffs included) in NFL history, Belichick brought massive expectations with him to North Carolina. The Tar Heels have instead gotten outscored 120-33 in three Power Four matchups, notching their only two wins against Charlotte and Richmond.
The first quarter of Saturday’s game ended in a familiar score to Patriots fans, but Belichick’s team couldn’t erase this 28-3 deficit. UNC allowed 399 passing yards and five touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Antonio Williams on the opening play from scrimmage.
Belichick preached patience and dismissed the need for significant structural changes after the loss, per ESPN’s David Hale.
“The main thing we need to do is to keep doing what we’re doing but do them better,” Belichick said. “Fundamentally we’re not doing the wrong things, we’re just not doing them well enough.”
Belichick has more time to prepare North Carolina for a road game against California on Friday, Oct. 17.
