UNC @ Charlotte

[Peppers49]

Taking a step back from all of the big picture talk, one thing I don’t agree with as of right now is the take that Max Johnson needs to be the starter. He’s not quick or athletic enough to hold up behind this OL, and he’s on his last year of eligibility. You might as well keep rolling with Gio for as long as possible, both to maximize chances of winning this season and to see if there’s any hope that he can be the guy next season. In fact, I’d probably rather see the staff throw Baker out there in a pinch to see what we have if Gio really sucks or gets injured.

 

[heel79]

Taking a step back from all of the big picture talk, one thing I don’t agree with as of right now is the take that Max Johnson needs to be the starter. He’s not quick or athletic enough to hold up behind this OL, and he’s on his last year of eligibility. You might as well keep rolling with Gio for as long as possible, both to maximize chances of winning this season and to see if there’s any hope that he can be the guy next season. In fact, I’d probably rather see the staff throw Baker out there in a pinch to see what we have there if Gio really sucks or gets injured.

Totally agree.

 

[SnoopRob]

So then after the BOT/Chancellor makes the hire essentially without Bubba's input, Belichick then hires Michael Lombardi, whom no one at any level of football coaching or personnel management has wanted to touch with a ten foot pole in almost a full decade, and they spend December trying to single-handedly manage the roster and the transfer portal despite having zero experience or knowledge of either, because they had blanket fired every single person in the Kenan Football Center on day one and had not yet hired their replacements.

Why do you think they "blanket fired" everyone in the KFC on day one?

What I typically see with situations where a new coaching staff is hired is that most folks know that they may not have a job and so they start looking immediately for a new landing spot. Unless Belichick was committed to bringing those folks back and promised them a job going forward, most weren't going to stay once they got another offer elsewhere. And you can certainly understand why Belichick might have wanted to bring his own people in based on the mandate to re/build UNC Football in a way that it hadn't been before.

I think that a lot of the criticism of the Belichick hire is valid and I share it. And I think a lot of the criticism of everything that has happened since the hire is valid, whether I share it or not. But I think that hiring Belichick after the winter portal had opened and the fact that he was not an active coach with a staff that would largely follow him to his new school put us behind the 8 ball with portal recruiting, especially given that what we lack is high-end talent and most of the high-end talent that transfers has been tampered with before the portal ever opens and know where they're going as soon as they enter. It was our hiring decision that brought Belichick in too late to be truly successful in the winter transfer portal, which is beyond Belichick's control and has influenced our lack of talent on this year's team, which I think is a valid consideration. It has certainly made this season more difficult and made for a longer re/build period, but I don't know that you can lay the fault for that with Belichick as opposed to the University & AD.

 

[SnoopRob]

Taking a step back from all of the big picture talk, one thing I don’t agree with as of right now is the take that Max Johnson needs to be the starter. He’s not quick or athletic enough to hold up behind this OL, and he’s on his last year of eligibility. You might as well keep rolling with Gio for as long as possible, both to maximize chances of winning this season and to see if there’s any hope that he can be the guy next season. In fact, I’d probably rather see the staff throw Baker out there in a pinch to see what we have if Gio really sucks or gets injured.

I don't know that Max should be the starter right now, but I would have liked to have gotten him a couple of series against Charlotte (and still against Richmond) to see how the offense would look with him as the QB.

We certainly looked better against TCU with him as the QB and I think that breeds questions as to whether or not Gio is the right QB for this team this year. And until we reach a point where we're playing folks for "next year" then the QB that offers the best chance to win games now should be the QB we're playing.

 

[Calheel]

Taking a step back from all of the big picture talk, one thing I don’t agree with as of right now is the take that Max Johnson needs to be the starter. He’s not quick or athletic enough to hold up behind this OL, and he’s on his last year of eligibility. You might as well keep rolling with Gio for as long as possible, both to maximize chances of winning this season and to see if there’s any hope that he can be the guy next season. In fact, I’d probably rather see the staff throw Baker out there in a pinch to see what we have if Gio really sucks or gets injured.

First, I've never agreed that you need a good runner if you have a bad offensive line. What you need is someone with a quick release who processes the field quickly and gets the ball out quickly. Running QBs behind bad Olines tend to take a huge number of sacks.

Second, if Max has retained any of his speed post-injury (which I do not know) he is a very good runner. He had good runs against Minnesota (including our first TD) and I trust him to run when necessary.

Third, Gio has really struggled in his first two games, and TCU did not have a good defense last year (maybe they have improved) and Charlotte is one of the worst teams in all of football (gave up nearly 600 yards to App). At some point, we absolutely need to pull the plug on the Gio experiment if he cannot get the job done. I don't know if it is play calling, the move up in level, nerves or whatever, but Gio has been bad, real bad.

 

[heel79]

First, I've never agreed that you need a good runner if you have a bad offensive line. What you need is someone with a quick release who processes the field quickly and gets the ball out quickly. Running QBs behind bad Olines tend to take a huge number of sacks.

Second, if Max has retained any of his speed post-injury (which I do not know) he is a very good runner. He had good runs against Minnesota (including our first TD) and I trust him to run when necessary.

Third, Gio has really struggled in his first two games, and TCU did not have a good defense last year (maybe they have improved) and Charlotte is one of the worst teams in all of football (gave up nearly 600 yards to App). At some point, we absolutely need to pull the plug on the Gio experiment if he cannot get the job done. I don't know if it is play calling, the move up in level, nerves or whatever, but Gio has been bad, real bad.

I have lot of respect for your knowledge but Gio was not bad in game 2. 17-25. 5 yards a carry. Perfect long TD pass. Extended several plays for FD. Yea. It was Charlotte. But that's not bad qb play

 

[heelinhell]

The coaching staff deserves criticism for the way December was handled. We weren’t proactive enough at getting a staff in place that could recruit the December portal window sufficiently. And Lord knows we needed to acquire as much talent as possible in that window.

That being said, we did a good job in the spring portal window, and 2026 recruiting is going great. There are growing pains both on and off the field as this staff literally uses trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t work in college football. That goes for staffing, recruiting pitch, play calling, scheme, the whole 9 yards.

For me, if this team wins 6-7 games with this talent level, it’s easy to sell year 1 as growing pains towards a rebuild. Especially if we are notably improving week to week and we win a big rivalry game or two (please God beat State) as part of that 6-7 wins.

But if this thing becomes only 3-4 wins this year it’s going to be hard to put lipstick on that pig.

Right now I think both paths are firmly in play. I could still envision anywhere from like 3-8 wins. Lower end of that range is a total failure. Upper end of that range exceeds preseason expectations.

I agree.

Getting 7 wins this year is a stretch, but we have been a 7-5 program for 100 years so if 50 million dollar Bill can notch 7 wins he would match our average which would make for a good season.

My fear is that we lose to wake, dook** and ncst (which are the only games that matter to me) and end up with a 5-7 record.

Dick Crum and Mack 1.0 were our winningest coaches with 64% and 60% winning percentages.

If 50 million dollar Bill can just get us to winning the neighborhood then I'm ok with him joining all of the other 7-5 coaches in our 100 year history.

 

[Calheel]

I have lot of respect for your knowledge but Gio was not bad in game 2. 17-25. 5 yards a carry. Perfect long TD pass. Extended several plays for FD. Yea. It was Charlotte. But that's not bad qb play

If you take away that 1st series (which is the only series in which Gio plays well in both games), he was 14-22 for 80 yards. A good QB should average around 8-9 yards per pass attempt. 22 attempts for 80 yards is putrid. It is 3.634 yards per attempt.

In comparison, AJ Swann for App State (hardly a superstar) was 31 for 46 for 368 yards (8 yards per attempt) against Charlotte.

Gio has trouble finding receivers downfield, looking over the middle, making quick reads, leaving the pocket too soon, locking onto receivers, not leading his receivers to the ball correctly, especially passes in the flat. He has just been bad.

 

[Peppers49]

First, I've never agreed that you need a good runner if you have a bad offensive line. What you need is someone with a quick release who processes the field quickly and gets the ball out quickly. Running QBs behind bad Olines tend to take a huge number of sacks.

Second, if Max has retained any of his speed post-injury (which I do not know) he is a very good runner. He had good runs against Minnesota (including our first TD) and I trust him to run when necessary.

Third, Gio has really struggled in his first two games, and TCU did not have a good defense last year (maybe they have improved) and Charlotte is one of the worst teams in all of football (gave up nearly 600 yards to App). At some point, we absolutely need to pull the plug on the Gio experiment if he cannot get the job done. I don't know if it is play calling, the move up in level, nerves or whatever, but Gio has been bad, real bad.I’m not saying that Gio has been amazing so far but it’s not like we’re choosing between starting Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers here. There’s a reason that Max is on his third school

First, I've never agreed that you need a good runner if you have a bad offensive line. What you need is someone with a quick release who processes the field quickly and gets the ball out quickly. Running QBs behind bad Olines tend to take a huge number of sacks.

Second, if Max has retained any of his speed post-injury (which I do not know) he is a very good runner. He had good runs against Minnesota (including our first TD) and I trust him to run when necessary.

Third, Gio has really struggled in his first two games, and TCU did not have a good defense last year (maybe they have improved) and Charlotte is one of the worst teams in all of football (gave up nearly 600 yards to App). At some point, we absolutely need to pull the plug on the Gio experiment if he cannot get the job done. I don't know if it is play calling, the move up in level, nerves or whatever, but Gio has been bad, real bad.

I’m not going to tell you that Gio has been amazing, but the reality is that we’re not exactly choosing between prime Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady here. There’s a reason that Max is on his 3rd program, got beat out by a QB that’s now at Houston during his last year at A&M, and also lost the QB battle this off-season. He has slow feet in the pocket and isn’t exactly know for making quick reads himself anyway.

My point is that I really don’t think the W/L column would change that much with either Gio or Max, so in a year where you’re trying to build a foundation why not at least see what you have with the guy that could be here long term.

 

[SnoopRob]

My fear is that we lose to wake, dook** and ncst (which are the only games that matter to me) and end up with a 5-7 record.

Based on the first 2 weeks, I think we beat Wake (they've looked pretty rough so far, as well) and lose to dook and State.

Which...ugh.

 

[Calheel]

I’m not going to tell you that Gio has been amazing, but the reality is that we’re not exactly choosing between prime Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady here. There’s a reason that Max is on his 3rd program, got beat out by a QB that’s now at Houston during his last year at A&M, and also lost the QB battle this off-season. He has slow feet in the pocket and isn’t exactly know for making quick reads himself anyway.

My point is that I really don’t think the W/L column would change that much with either Gio or Max, so in a year where you’re trying to build a foundation why not at least see what you have with the guy that could be here long term.

Everybody always loves the backup, right?

I've seen enough game action on Max that I know he is competent. My main complaint with him is that he makes risky throws.

But he has been worlds better than Gio this year. Maybe Gio is performing way better in practice, and he can turn it around, but the first two games are not promising. If you really want to build for the future, put in Tori or Bryce. That said, I am willing to give Gio one more game to show me something. If he can't put up 300 yards on Richmond, something is amiss.

Here are some video clips from Jason showing the offensive problems. Gio is not the only problem with the offense, but everything seems so much worse with him at the helm.

 

[rodoheel]

Everybody always loves the backup, right?

I've seen enough game action on Max that I know he is competent. My main complaint with him is that he makes risky throws.

But he has been worlds better than Gio this year. Maybe Gio is performing way better in practice, and he can turn it around, but the first two games are not promising.

I dunno if I'm ready to declare based on Max's garbage time performance against TCU, with the game already well out of hand, that he has been "worlds better" than Gio. And candidly, if Max is our best QB option, e're in trouble, because I don't see him as bringing much upside; let's recall that he looked pretty rough (to be fair against a good Minnesota D) before he got hurt last season.

 

[Ramrouser]

Agree we continue to ride with Gio and hopefully we'll see steady improvement. That's not to say I wouldn't support Max getting a series or two if the offense is stalling with consecutive or multiple 3 and outs.

 

[HeelYeah2012]

Why do you think they "blanket fired" everyone in the KFC on day one?

What I typically see with situations where a new coaching staff is hired is that most folks know that they may not have a job and so they start looking immediately for a new landing spot. Unless Belichick was committed to bringing those folks back and promised them a job going forward, most weren't going to stay once they got another offer elsewhere. And you can certainly understand why Belichick might have wanted to bring his own people in based on the mandate to re/build UNC Football in a way that it hadn't been before.

I think that a lot of the criticism of the Belichick hire is valid and I share it. And I think a lot of the criticism of everything that has happened since the hire is valid, whether I share it or not. But I think that hiring Belichick after the winter portal had opened and the fact that he was not an active coach with a staff that would largely follow him to his new school put us behind the 8 ball with portal recruiting, especially given that what we lack is high-end talent and most of the high-end talent that transfers has been tampered with before the portal ever opens and know where they're going as soon as they enter. It was our hiring decision that brought Belichick in too late to be truly successful in the winter transfer portal, which is beyond Belichick's control and has influenced our lack of talent on this year's team, which I think is a valid consideration. It has certainly made this season more difficult and made for a longer re/build period, but I don't know that you can lay the fault for that with Belichick as opposed to the University & AD.

Good post Snoop. I agree with this. We did ourselves no favors in the winter portal. Coaching staff owns a portion of that for being disorganized, but some of it is just part of the deal and was somewhat outside of Belichick’s control.

 

[akillesheel]

First, I've never agreed that you need a good runner if you have a bad offensive line. What you need is someone with a quick release who processes the field quickly and gets the ball out quickly. Running QBs behind bad Olines tend to take a huge number of sacks.

Second, if Max has retained any of his speed post-injury (which I do not know) he is a very good runner. He had good runs against Minnesota (including our first TD) and I trust him to run when necessary.

I think you're probably right about Gio, but you're way overrating Johnson imo. He's decently athletic but he's so slow to recognize pressure that it doesn't matter, defenders gain too much ground on him and he takes a bunch of sacks and it's why he's gotten injured every single season he's started as a college quarterback. His career pressure-to-sack ratio per PFF is ~18%, compared to Lopez's ~12% - 15 is about average. And his downfield processing is just as bad; the primary issue I had with his tape when he transferred was how long he held on to the ball even when he had open reads.

Johnson's one advantage over Gio right now is that he can make some timing throws, where he doesn't have to read a defense and the ball's location is pre-determined, with regularity to the short and intermediate parts of the field. Similar to what we've already seen, that's good for a scripted series or in garbage time, but a defense can pretty easily adjust to him after a quick look. the ceiling and floor for this offense are much much lower if he's named starter.

 

[MOUNTAINH33L]

We just have to buckle up and ride this season out. Let's enjoy the precious wins, and try not to melt down over the losses. Maybe we'll get our shit together and beat State and dook. BB has a good class coming in, and I think the Heels can thrive in the portal.

 

[HeelYeah2012]

We need to evaluate Gio until at least such time that the coaches feel comfortable putting one of those freshmen out there.

Starting Max Johnson this season does nothing for us.

 

[CFordUNC]

Why do you think they "blanket fired" everyone in the KFC on day one?

What I typically see with situations where a new coaching staff is hired is that most folks know that they may not have a job and so they start looking immediately for a new landing spot. Unless Belichick was committed to bringing those folks back and promised them a job going forward, most weren't going to stay once they got another offer elsewhere. And you can certainly understand why Belichick might have wanted to bring his own people in based on the mandate to re/build UNC Football in a way that it hadn't been before.

I think that a lot of the criticism of the Belichick hire is valid and I share it. And I think a lot of the criticism of everything that has happened since the hire is valid, whether I share it or not. But I think that hiring Belichick after the winter portal had opened and the fact that he was not an active coach with a staff that would largely follow him to his new school put us behind the 8 ball with portal recruiting, especially given that what we lack is high-end talent and most of the high-end talent that transfers has been tampered with before the portal ever opens and know where they're going as soon as they enter. It was our hiring decision that brought Belichick in too late to be truly successful in the winter transfer portal, which is beyond Belichick's control and has influenced our lack of talent on this year's team, which I think is a valid consideration. It has certainly made this season more difficult and made for a longer re/build period, but I don't know that you can lay the fault for that with Belichick as opposed to the University & AD.

You can fire all of the former staff's assistant coaches. That is standard operating procedure in a coaching change, and in fact *should* happen (and should have included firing the interim head coach instead of making him the new offensive coordinator!).

What you shouldn't do is ALSO fire every single other operations staffer, recruiting staffer, high school relations staffer, and player personnel staffer in the building before you have an opportunity to make your own hires or give those folks an opportunity to audition for the job. Yet that is exactly what Belichick and Lombardi did. Heck, they even axed the longtime executive administrative assistants. It's actually extremely unheard of to completely clear out an entire football staff like they did, and is a huge reason why the first few months were a disaster. The vast majority of the non-coaching personnel that were fired have been here spanning several coaching eras- some had been here since the Bunting days. Made no sense to fire all of those people on day one until a plan was in place to either retain or replace them, and the way that we can know that Belichick and Co. recognized that it was a big blunder on their part was that they went begging to several of those folks for them to return on a temp basis- most told them to GFY.

Fair disclaimer: I remained close with several of those folks whom I'm referring to long after my days of being affiliated with the football program, so I'm certainly not without my biases in being mad at how those folks were treated. I understand it's "just business" but it was stupid, ineffective business, IMO. Think of most of those folks as being similar to the non-partisan/non-political people that get needlessly fired by presidential transition teams.

 

[Calheel]

We need to evaluate Gio until at least such time that the coaches feel comfortable putting one of those freshmen out there.

Starting Max Johnson this season does nothing for us.

I’d be fine putting one of the freshmen in. The replacement doesn’t need to be Max. And I’d be fine giving Gio one more game to get it figured out. But Gio needs to get significantly better to justify his role with this team.

 

[Zoo_View]

You can fire all of the former staff's assistant coaches. That is standard operating procedure in a coaching change, and in fact *should* happen (and should have included firing the interim head coach instead of making him the new offensive coordinator!).

What you shouldn't do is ALSO fire every single other operations staffer, recruiting staffer, high school relations staffer, and player personnel staffer in the building before you have an opportunity to make your own hires or give those folks an opportunity to audition for the job. Yet that is exactly what Belichick and Lombardi did. Heck, they even axed the longtime executive administrative assistants. It's actually extremely unheard of to completely clear out an entire football staff like they did, and is a huge reason why the first few months were a disaster. The vast majority of the non-coaching personnel that were fired have been here spanning several coaching eras- some had been here since the Bunting days. Made no sense to fire all of those people on day one until a plan was in place to either retain or replace them, and the way that we can know that Belichick and Co. recognized that it was a big blunder on their part was that they went begging to several of those folks for them to return on a temp basis- most told them to GFY.

Fair disclaimer: I remained close with several of those folks whom I'm referring to long after my days of being affiliated with the football program, so I'm certainly not without my biases in being mad at how those folks were treated. I understand it's "just business" but it was stupid, ineffective business, IMO. Think of most of those folks as being similar to the non-partisan/non-political people that get needlessly fired by presidential transition teams.

Firing all of the non-coaching staff is a Doherty-like moronic move.