UNC Football Catch-all | Bill Belichick Era underway

[Calheel]

I think that is part of the reason he is retiring, too. I'm afraid the new guy from NASCAR is just going to be a puppet for the Pubs on the BOT.

The BoT is largely a ceremonial position with fundraising responsibilities. It is the BoG, President and Chancellor that has all the real power.

People frequently confuse the role of the BoT on the message boards. To the extent the BoT has power, it is because they are rich and have rich friends, which tends to be influential in politics. But the BoT is not calling the shots and Bubba (and everyone else that matters) knows that.

Preyer stuck his nose into the hiring but Roberts ran with it. If Roberts didn’t want Bill, we wouldn’t have Bill.

 

[uncjhodges]

It seems to me that the recipe for success at UNC in any sport has always been to find a young and up and coming coach with promise but most importantly one who WANTS to be at Carolina. Give them the resources they need to be successful and get the hell out of their way. We do not win with big egos and we do not win with hired guns.

Look at who is winning right now for us on campus. Look who has won for us historically. The trends are pretty clear. For some reason, we do not want to follow the history.

Hell, I would hire Jeff Saturday in 3 seconds before I would have hired Belichick and Jeff wouldn't be at the top of my list either.

Jeff Saturday should be nowhere near a list of possible coaches

 

[SnoopRob]

Succinctly well said.

I don't think Belichick & Company actually thought Carolina Football needed a rebuild until they didn't get all the recruits they wanted and then got their asses handed to them by TCU, UCF, and Clemson.

I think that Belichick & Company thought that they were so much better than these lowly college coaches that they'd waltz in and succeed doing things "their way" because they were clearly far better than the competition.

This wasn't a "rebuild" until they were sitting at 2-3 and looking squarely in the face of a disastrous season.

 

[SnoopRob]

The BoT is largely a ceremonial position with fundraising responsibilities. It is the BoG, President and Chancellor that has all the real power.

People frequently confuse the role of the BoT on the message boards. To the extent the BoT has power, it is because they are rich and have rich friends, which tends to be influential in politics. But the BoT is not calling the shots and Bubba (and everyone else that matters) knows that.

Preyer stuck his nose into the hiring but Roberts ran with it. If Roberts didn’t want Bill, we wouldn’t have Bill.

Preyer and Roberts are just two Republican-installed puppets in slightly different positions.

Roberts wasn't going to expend the political capital to fight against Preyer on this when bigger Republican fish had been involved in getting Belichick to Preyer to begin with.

The BOT has power because the BOG & GA has given it power. The BOG has power because the GA has given it power. At this point, UNC's Chancellor is only in his position because the Republican power brokers selected him.

Certain folks at certain levels take on certain roles, but all of them owe their positions to appeasing the big fish Republicans in this state.

 

[CFordUNC]

I don't think Belichick & Company actually thought Carolina Football needed a rebuild until they didn't get all the recruits they wanted and then got their asses handed to them by TCU, UCF, and Clemson.

I think that Belichick & Company thought that they were so much better than these lowly college coaches that they'd waltz in and succeed doing things "their way" because they were clearly far better than the competition.

This wasn't a "rebuild" until they were sitting at 2-3 and looking squarely in the face of a disastrous season.

Completely agree 100%. They’ve moved the goalposts out of the stadium and into the next county.

 

[gregh1]

Given our recent history of mediocrity I was okay with experimenting with something different, esp since a truck of money was coming into the program. After some positive signs vs Cal and UVa I was hopeful. But after all the special teams crap vs Wake and Duke, (and undisciplined play) i'm much less hopeful about the future.

 

[Calheel]

Preyer and Roberts are just two Republican-installed puppets in slightly different positions.

Roberts wasn't going to expend the political capital to fight against Preyer on this when bigger Republican fish had been involved in getting Belichick to Preyer to begin with.

The BOT has power because the BOG & GA has given it power. The BOG has power because the GA has given it power. At this point, UNC's Chancellor is only in his position because the Republican power brokers selected him.

Certain folks at certain levels take on certain roles, but all of them owe their positions to appeasing the big fish Republicans in this state.

Disagree strongly. The BoT does not have power. Preyer is stepping down. And before that, Hans had stripped any ceremonial role from the BoT for athletic hires.

The fact is that Roberts was impressed by Belichick during the interview process and made the decision to hire him.

 

[CFordUNC]

I don't really care to follow high school and portal recruiting anymore- I'll wait to care about them when they show up on the roster on Opening Day, and even then I only care about the name on the front of the jersey. But I took a look today at our recruiting class for the first time after seeing so many folks on IC and 247 talking about our supposedly ballyhooed "top 15" recruiting class coming in. Unless I'm reading and understanding the rankings incorrectly, we are ranked 26th by average player rating. That/s exactly in line with every single other UNC football coaching staff since I've been following UNC football starting in the 2000 season. John Bunting, Butch Davis, Larry Fedora, and Mack Brown all recruited right around that average mark, with some years a little higher and some years a little lower.

There are so many myths around this whole Belichick experiment that need to be dispelled: this notion that recruiting is going gangbusters, the notion that this current team is completely void of talent (it was rated 31st in composite talent rankings before the season), the notion that Belichick got some hugely "late start" (he was hired at the same time as Scott Frost and Jake Dickert, both of whom kicked our ass with worse rosters), the notion that UNC had 70 new players this year so it's unfair to have expected them to be a good team (all 70 players were personally scouted, evaluated, and offered by Belichick and Lombardi), etc.

 

[1moretimeagain]

I don't think Belichick & Company actually thought Carolina Football needed a rebuild until they didn't get all the recruits they wanted and then got their asses handed to them by TCU, UCF, and Clemson.

I think that Belichick & Company thought that they were so much better than these lowly college coaches that they'd waltz in and succeed doing things "their way" because they were clearly far better than the competition.

This wasn't a "rebuild" until they were sitting at 2-3 and looking squarely in the face of a disastrous season.

Pro nutrition and recovery would have us winning.

 

[Calheel]

I don't really care to follow high school and portal recruiting anymore- I'll wait to care about them when they show up on the roster on Opening Day, and even then I only care about the name on the front of the jersey. But I took a look today at our recruiting class for the first time after seeing so many folks on IC and 247 talking about our supposedly ballyhooed "top 15" recruiting class coming in. Unless I'm reading and understanding the rankings incorrectly, we are ranked 26th by average player rating. That/s exactly in line with every single other UNC football coaching staff since I've been following UNC football starting in the 2000 season. John Bunting, Butch Davis, Larry Fedora, and Mack Brown all recruited right around that average mark, with some years a little higher and some years a little lower.

There are so many myths around this whole Belichick experiment that need to be dispelled: this notion that recruiting is going gangbusters, the notion that this current team is completely void of talent (it was rated 31st in composite talent rankings before the season), the notion that Belichick got some hugely "late start" (he was hired at the same time as Scott Frost and Jake Dickert, both of whom kicked our ass with worse rosters), the notion that UNC had 70 new players this year so it's unfair to have expected them to be a good team (all 70 players were personally scouted, evaluated, and offered by Belichick and Lombardi), etc.

I don’t think average rating is a very meaningful way to compare recruiting classes.

 

[Peppers49]

I don't really care to follow high school and portal recruiting anymore- I'll wait to care about them when they show up on the roster on Opening Day, and even then I only care about the name on the front of the jersey. But I took a look today at our recruiting class for the first time after seeing so many folks on IC and 247 talking about our supposedly ballyhooed "top 15" recruiting class coming in. Unless I'm reading and understanding the rankings incorrectly, we are ranked 26th by average player rating. That/s exactly in line with every single other UNC football coaching staff since I've been following UNC football starting in the 2000 season. John Bunting, Butch Davis, Larry Fedora, and Mack Brown all recruited right around that average mark, with some years a little higher and some years a little lower.

There are so many myths around this whole Belichick experiment that need to be dispelled: this notion that recruiting is going gangbusters, the notion that this current team is completely void of talent (it was rated 31st in composite talent rankings before the season), the notion that Belichick got some hugely "late start" (he was hired at the same time as Scott Frost and Jake Dickert, both of whom kicked our ass with worse rosters), the notion that UNC had 70 new players this year so it's unfair to have expected them to be a good team (all 70 players were personally scouted, evaluated, and offered by Belichick and Lombardi), etc.

Regarding the recruiting rankings, I’ve said a few times that I think 2026 is a solid type of class. Like you I also think it’s instructive to look at our historical recruiting trends to gauge the expectations, and the more recent seasons are obviously better indicators of our current potential. When looking at it that way, this class is actually not even at the level Mack reached for a few years early in his second stint.

We have Mack-like coaching on the field and can’t even reach Mack levels of recruiting off the field.

 

[CFordUNC]

I don’t think average rating is a very meaningful way to compare recruiting classes.

Do you mean average rating isn't a meaningful way to compare different recruiting classes across different eras, or that average player rating in a particular individual class isn't a meaningful way to rank that class? If it's the former, I probably agree with that, although I do think it's at least somewhat relevant to be able to make a determination of the level of roster talent a team had relative to its competition at any given time.

 

[gregh1]

Regarding, the personnel department (Lombo), look at what we had returning defensively and look how "not bad" or "better than mediocre" we are defensively. Some of that is good coaching but a lot of defense is about talent. Look at the impact of Isaiah Johnson, Robinson, Gbayor, Simpson (all spring) and Melkart. Don't we need to give Lombo some credit for them, esp especially given many were spring was supposed to be bleak?

Offensively it's harder to tell but there's clearly something rotten on the offensive side. Based on the scheme, the fact that Buchanan was our starting LT etc.

Gio was the biggest question mark for Lombo so far on the offensive side, but look how well he played last night. Lombo isn't responsible for the actual coaching and play calling. And we're starting 4 OL that were SPRING portal guys, again, when there wasn't much to choose from.

I think probably he should take some blame for not getting better WR/TE and for Willam Boone not being better.

He sounds like a snake oil salesman but I think the jury's still out on Lombo/BB's recruiting especially given that he/BB dissolved the prior staff.

 

[CFordUNC]

So that's kind of another "myth" that needs dispelled, IMO. Last year's defense was ranked 70th in FPI. This year's is 80th, with fewer sacks, against worse competition. Are individual defensive players having solid seasons? Definitely. Is the defense overall playing with more physicality than it has in a while? I think it is. But it's still plagued by poor tackling, undisciplined play leading to bonehead penalties, and inability to get off the field on 3rd and 4th down. It's not an absolutely godawful-dreadful defense like we mostly had under Fedora and Mack, but it's still mostly a below average defense. All of our supposed defensive improvement has come because we've played really poor offenses *for the most part *over the last month and a half (Virginia and Duke are good offenses, to be fair. Cal, Syracuse, Stanford, and Wake are not).

 

[SnoopRob]

Disagree strongly. The BoT does not have power. Preyer is stepping down. And before that, Hans had stripped any ceremonial role from the BoT for athletic hires.

The fact is that Roberts was impressed by Belichick during the interview process and made the decision to hire him.

The BOT obviously has power, the power the State of NC and the BOG has delegated to them. To deny that they have power is simply wrong on the face of the claim.

From a procedural perspective, Roberts could have clearly decided not to hire Belichick. But practically-speaking, as a Republican who has hitched his professional wagon to the Republican Party in NC for his current position, he would need an overwhelming reason to refrain from hiring someone with the CV of Bill Belichick because if he says no then every person from Preyer to Thom Tillis to Marco Rubio and all of their associates are going to wonder why UNC didn't hire Belichick for it's open position. And then Roberts is going to have to defend himself from whatever crap rolls back downhill as the repercussions of such a decision. So while Roberts had the technical ability to not hire Belichick, he would have been absolutely stupid to do so without an overwhelmingly good reason due what would have been the resulting fallout.

I'm sure that Belichick interviewed well, as he's a football-lifer and knows a lot about the game. I mean, it wasn't like he was going to walk into a meeting with Roberts and say, "Yeah, I'm one of the greatest coaches of all time but I'm at a point in my career where my 24 year old girlfriend leads me around by my dick and I plan to load my staff with my family, my underachieving buddies and their family, and whomever else I know sitting around the KFC while firing everyone I don't know without good reason and I'm so arrogant I won't recognize that I'm in entirely over my head until my team gets its head crushed in on the field numerous times."

So, in short, by the time Preyer got involved and offered Belichick the job and ran off all other serious applicants, Roberts had very little real world choices other than to hire Belichick if he valued his own position.

 

[CFordUNC]

This is not an original thought of mine because I heard it on the Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio podcast last week after we lost to Wake Forest, but it bears repeating that Wake is currently having the exact season that everyone at UNC assumed we'd be having.

Jake Dickert and Bill Belichick were hired at the same time. Wake Forest had a transfer portal class ranked 65th, with 34 incoming transfers. UNC had a transfer portal class ranked 8th with 42 incoming transfers. Wake's strength of schedule is 77th, UNC's is 93rd.

Wake Forest is going for a 9-3 regular season this weekend at Duke, and Dickert will be ACC COY if Tony Elliott doesn't win it. They'd be 10-2 were it not for #ACCrefs costing them the Georgia Tech game.

UNC is 4-8, got drilled by Wake, and looks like we're going nowhere fast. Coaching matters.

 

[SnoopRob]

This is not an original thought of mine because I heard it on the Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio podcast last week after we lost to Wake Forest, but it bears repeating that Wake is currently having the exact season that everyone at UNC assumed we'd be having.

Jake Dickert and Bill Belichick were hired at the same time. Wake Forest had a transfer portal class ranked 65th, with 34 incoming transfers. UNC had a transfer portal class ranked 8th with 42 incoming transfers. Wake's strength of schedule is 77th, UNC's is 93rd.

Wake Forest is going for a 9-3 regular season this weekend at Duke, and Dickert will be ACC COY if Tony Elliott doesn't win it. They'd be 10-2 were it not for #ACCrefs costing them the Georgia Tech game.

UNC is 4-8, got drilled by Wake, and looks like we're going nowhere fast. Coaching matters.

I agree with all of this. The only thing I'd add is that QB especially matters and we did a terrible job in the off-season (and, perhaps, in the season?) at that position.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

I care very little what Joe Ovies thinks about UNC football

 

[CFordUNC]

The numbers I posted above don't care what Joe Ovies thinks about UNC football either and they are extraordinarily unflattering for our $10M+ head football coach and all of the folks inexplicaby still carrying his water.

 

[keywestheel]

This is not an original thought of mine because I heard it on the Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio podcast last week after we lost to Wake Forest, but it bears repeating that Wake is currently having the exact season that everyone at UNC assumed we'd be having.

Jake Dickert and Bill Belichick were hired at the same time. Wake Forest had a transfer portal class ranked 65th, with 34 incoming transfers. UNC had a transfer portal class ranked 8th with 42 incoming transfers. Wake's strength of schedule is 77th, UNC's is 93rd.

Wake Forest is going for a 9-3 regular season this weekend at Duke, and Dickert will be ACC COY if Tony Elliott doesn't win it. They'd be 10-2 were it not for #ACCrefs costing them the Georgia Tech game.

UNC is 4-8, got drilled by Wake, and looks like we're going nowhere fast. Coaching matters.

It hurts to read and accept that. How anyone can excuse the debacle of a season BB and ML have given us is beyond my small intellect and all at an expense that probably triples the WF program. We have been sold the grand lemon automobile.