Bill Belichick’s second season in college football will kick off when the North Carolina Tar Heels clash against the TCU Horned Frogs in Ireland. Belichick’s stint in college football has been woeful, underlined by a 4-8 finish and a litany of off-field distractions.
Ahead of their season opener, college football analyst Bruce Feldman was brutal in his assessment of Belichick’s North Carolina stint so far.
Bruce Feldman Gives Brutal Bill Belichick Assessment
During Friday’s segment of “The Herd,” Feldman blasted Belichick’s North Carolina career and stated the importance of the Tar Heels’ game against the Horned Frogs.
“The other big game that everyone’s gonna wanna watch, it’s in Ireland. It’s Bill Belichick round two,” Feldman said. “Can he get off the mat? Last year they got absolutely throttled by TCU; now they get a rematch. It’s kind of a must-win for Belichick.
“I really think if you look at how the schedule is set up, and the way they played last year, and just the dynamics around the program, it’s been disarray and disappointment and really, to be honest, he’s been a laughing stock of college football.”
Belichick’s predecessor, Mack Brown, finished his second stint in North Carolina with a 44-33 record and was fired after a 6-6 finish in the 2024 season. Under Brown, the Tar Heels were bowl-eligible for six straight seasons, reaching the ACC Championship game in 2022 and earning a 2020 Orange Bowl appearance.
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The Tar Heels faltered under Belichick last year and were widely criticized for haphazard roster building via the transfer portal.
Feldman further pointed out that the Tar Heels still dominated the news cycle because of how badly run they’ve been under Belichick.
“They are because it’s been a dumpster fire, right? It’s not just that they were 4-8,” Feldman added.
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“They were awful last year, but he has the highest-paid GM in all of college football, Mike Lombardi. He is on the shelf right now on paid leave as they investigate him. His son Steve Belichick, who did actually a pretty good job as defensive coordinator last year, is on medical leave.
“He’s not gonna be there this weekend. I don’t think this is a very talented team. If they could somehow get to seven wins, which was not uncommon when Mack Brown had the job. It’s not a big ask to have North Carolina win seven games, especially in the ACC.”
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The Tar Heels earned a decent PFN College Team Defense Impact score of 76.8 (#58 in the country) and an Offense Impact score of 73.3 (#85 in college football).
After last season’s offensive struggles, Belichick fired Freddie Kitchens and appointed Bobby Petrino as the Tar Heels’ offensive coordinator.
