UNC in discussions with Bill Belichick over exit strategy

[18IsTheMan]

Sounds like he won't last the season. Aside from the on-field disaster and circus off the field, there have apparently been a host of recruiting violations.

Report: "Potential exit strategy" discussions have begun as to Bill Belichick

Accounts of rules violations have created a sudden snowball.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[18IsTheMan]

Seems the recruiting violations could make it a for-cause firing and wipe out his $20 million buyout.

 

[will110]

 

[18IsTheMan]

I would assume Kitchens would become interim HC.

 

[Piscis]

None of what has happened with Belichick has surprised me in the least. Hiring him was an idiotic publicity stunt that was doomed from the start.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

 

[18IsTheMan]

None of what has happened with Belichick has surprised me in the least. Hiring him was an idiotic publicity stunt that was doomed from the start.

I dunno. I thought it was worth a shot for UNC, but that was without knowing what a circus everything would become and the whole crazy g/f situation. I thought it could provided that he cared, but it turns out he doesn't care. I'm not even sure why he's there. It's not the money. It's not to prove he can still coach. Ultimately, I don't think it does much to hurt UNC football. Given their situation, I can understand the absolute Hail Mary long shot to hire him. Like, why not? You're UNC...what do you have to lose? It absolutely slaughters whatever faint embers of hope Belichick had for coaching in the NFL again.

 

[Piscis]

I dunno. I thought it was worth a shot for UNC, but that was without knowing what a circus everything would become and the whole crazy g/f situation. Ultimately, I don't think it does much to hurt UNC football. It absolutely slaughters whatever faint embers of hope Belichick had for coaching in the NFL again.

If you look at his record without Brady, you will see that he was not the reason for the Pats success. There was a reason no NFL team grabbed him up when he left New England. The g/f thing should have been a huge red flag as far as an indicator of the man's decision making skills and judgement in general.

 

[Cobie]

Base contract is $50 million for 5 years.

There's a sea of coaches that know how to coach -- especially now with computer model assistance.

They could have easily hired a competent, hungry coach for one-third of his salary and pushed the rest to talent each year.

$5-7 million (plus whatever they dedicated for NIL with Belichick) for annual talent would go a long way in the ACC.

The archaic mindset is costing them dearly at the moment.

 

[will110]

I dunno. I thought it was worth a shot for UNC, but that was without knowing what a circus everything would become and the whole crazy g/f situation. I thought it could provided that he cared, but it turns out he doesn't care. I'm not even sure why he's there. It's not the money. It's not to prove he can still coach. Ultimately, I don't think it does much to hurt UNC football. Given their situation, I can understand the absolute Hail Mary long shot to hire him. Like, why not? You're UNC...what do you have to lose? It absolutely slaughters whatever faint embers of hope Belichick had for coaching in the NFL again.

I think this significantly damages Belichick's legacy. Really bizarre for him to take the job but not care about being successful.

 

[Cobie]

I think this significantly damages Belichick's legacy. Really bizarre for him to take the job but not care about being successful.

Bank robber mentality.

I'm not certain Muschamp didn't do the same for us and UF -- it was just more methodical in nature.

Planned obsolescence/robbery by a UGA guy.

 

[Lurker123]

Am I the only one who laughed at "recruiting violations"? We can flat out pay players now, what the heck are we doing tracking "violations"?

 

[Cobie]

Am I the only one who laughed at "recruiting violations"? We can flaylt out pay players now, what the heck are we doing tracking "violations"?

Likely they were offering bribes to players on other teams to defect via agents.

 

[92Pony]

How/why could we have expected it to be any different?

 

[Lurker123]

How could we have expected it to be any different?

Ill be perfectly honest, I didn't expect the dumpster fire. I expected bill to be lending his name to a program and for it to be coached by one of the coordinators.

I didn't think it would be awesome, but I didn't anticipate this level of suck.

 

[will110]

Bank robber mentality.

I'm not certain Muschamp didn't do the same for us and UF -- it was just more methodical in nature.

Planned obsolescence/robbery by a UGA guy.

Muschamp didn't have a legacy to protect though. Belichick was widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. He really wanted to get those 17 wins needed to become the NFL's winningest coach.

Instead, Belichick will go down as the guy who needed Tom Brady to win in the NFL and let his girlfriend, 50 years younger than he, turn his attempt at college football into a mockery.

 

[Cobie]

Muschamp didn't have a legacy to protect though. Belichick was widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. He really wanted to get those 17 wins needed to become the NFL's winningest coach.

Instead, Belichick will go down as the guy who needed Tom Brady to win in the NFL and let his girlfriend, 50 years younger than he, turn his attempt at college football into a mockery.

True -- If he cares about his legacy and what others think about him.

He's always seemed to be pretty turned off by any and all societal norms.

The girlfriend is additional signaling to that end.

 

[will110]

True -- If he cares about his legacy and what others think about him.

He's always seemed to be pretty turned off by any and all societal norms.

The girlfriend is additional signaling to that end.

Perhaps. It's a pretty sad end to a great coaching career, no doubt about that.

 

[kidrobinski]

Doesn’t do anything to alter the historical perception of Belichick.

Plus he has my thumbs up; couldn’t have selected a better school

 

[sclawman77]

None of what has happened with Belichick has surprised me in the least. Hiring him was an idiotic publicity stunt that was doomed from the start.

True. Have they taken a job search seriously in the last decade? They talked Mack Brown out of retirement to come back. Then 73 year old Belichick after that. Are they guaging Michael Jordan's interest in the job next? Lawrence Taylor?

 

[18IsTheMan]

I think this significantly damages Belichick's legacy. Really bizarre for him to take the job but not care about being successful.

Yeah, no way around it. This impacts his legacy.

If it had just been a coaching failure, then I don't think so. Much like SOS here. It ended disastrously, but he had some great success here and in the eyes of the media, it doesn't taint his legacy.

What hurts his legacy is how horrifically awful it has been on AND off the field. To get run off midway through your first season is a major stain on his legacy. To have it happen at UNC of all places is even worse. You're not getting canned by blue blood. This is considered one of the best NFL coaches of all time being told by UNC to hit the road midway through his first season.

 

[will110]

Yeah, no way around it. This impacts his legacy.

If it had just been a coaching failure, then I don't think so. Much like SOS here. It ended disastrously, but he had some great success here and in the eyes of the media, it doesn't taint his legacy.

What hurts his legacy is how horrifically awful it has been on AND off the field. To get run off midway through your first season is a major stain on his legacy. To have it happen at UNC of all places is even worse. You're not getting canned by blue blood. This is considered one of the best NFL coaches of all time being told by UNC to hit the road midway through his first season.

I think the off field issues hurt worse than the on field failures. Very few coaches are successful in both college and the NFL. Plenty of really good coaches in one have failed in the other: Saban, Spurrier, Chip Kelly, etc.

But the fact his tenure at UNC has been an absolute joke with the girlfriend stealing headlines...that's what's so damaging in my mind. It seems like Belichick is just along for the ride letting his GF call the shots.

 

[sclawman77]

I think the off field issues hurt worse than the on field failures. Very few coaches are successful in both college and the NFL. Plenty of really good coaches in one have failed in the other: Saban, Spurrier, Chip Kelly, etc.

But the fact his tenure at UNC has been an absolute joke with the girlfriend stealing headlines...that's what's so damaging in my mind. It seems like Belichick is just along for the ride letting his GF call the shots.

Lou Holtz too. Pete Carroll was an average NFL coach for the Jets and Patriots before he came back to the NFL and coached Seattle.

 

[Uscg1984]

How/why could we have expected it to be any different?

I think it was expected by enough people that when Belichick is shown the door, the UNC AD should be as well.

 

[Anon1705945076]

If I remember correctly the Belicheck hire was forced on Bubba Cunningham by some influential boosters .Surprising Cunningham didn’t resign then.I guess he saw this ending quickly and badly so he stuck around.

 

[Greer]

I dunno. I thought it was worth a shot for UNC, but that was without knowing what a circus everything would become and the whole crazy g/f situation. I thought it could provided that he cared, but it turns out he doesn't care. I'm not even sure why he's there. It's not the money. It's not to prove he can still coach. Ultimately, I don't think it does much to hurt UNC football. Given their situation, I can understand the absolute Hail Mary long shot to hire him. Like, why not? You're UNC...what do you have to lose? It absolutely slaughters whatever faint embers of hope Belichick had for coaching in the NFL again.

Take the crazy girlfriend out of the equation and it might have been decent for a couple years but is has been a train wreck.

 

[gamecock stock]

It will always be a mystery as to what both Belichick and UNC were thinking in going into that marriage.

 

[Rob Hawk]

Take the crazy girlfriend out of the equation and it might have been decent for a couple years but is has been a train wreck.

I'm guessing she requires him home by 5 every day.

 

[DeBoer31]

Had the opportunity to be around and see first hand TWO times in the off season leading up to this season the UNC staff. This is not a surprise to me. Was and will continue to be a dumpster fire unless a major overhaul with competent coachES come in. The family reunion staff thing he has there now is as disfunctional as you might imagine.
I always chuckled at the last six months when I heard how he was bringing an NFL mentality and methodology to a college program. That signaled to me how out of touch BB, his handlers and PR people were by feeding those type soundbites to media regarding the college game they were getting into.

 

[Cobie]

Regardless of how the UNC situation plays out, it's a blip on his career in the big picture as the guy is probably the most decorated coach in NFL history.

 

[SouthernBelly]

Hope he stays 5 more years. Love a good train wreck. Hope his woman becomes ACC commissioner.

 

[18IsTheMan]

It will always be a mystery as to what both Belichick and UNC were thinking in going into that marriage.

I don't think it's a huge mystery from the UNC side of things. No, if you're a Michigan or UGA or Bama, you don't make that move. Too much risk for a blue blood. But I can see why UNC might have swung for the fences on it. Best case scenario, he's successful and elevates your program. Having Belichick there gets eyes on your program. Worst case scenario, he's not successful, but it doesn't really hurt b/c your program wasn't in great shape anyway.

BUT....

I don't know that anyone could have predicted that Belichick simply would not take the job seriously at all. I saw a lot of predictions about why it may not work or probably wouldn't work, but none of those said it would be because he just wasn't going to try. Since the season started, he hasn't given any indication of really caring all that much about it.

I do agree with @Greer that the gf is a major factor. The situation was always weird because of the age difference, but there was no way of knowing that she was going to be such a presence and factor. Though it became known fairly quickly after he was hired.

So I do agree that it's a mystery what Belichick was thinking in taking the job. Maybe he was just that clueless about how college ball worked and realized after he got into the day-to-day that it wasn't his cup of tea. Given his total disconnect with college football, he would have been wise to surround himself with seasoned college coaches who know the game. Given his knowledge and experience with teaching the game, I think that might have given him a chance to succeed. But you'd still have the crazy gf factor.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Well, it seems the soap opera may go on after all:

UNC backs Belichick as talk swirls amid 2-3 start

Amid a chaotic week, North Carolina and head coach Bill Belichick released a joint statement Wednesday night, with the Tar Heels saying he has "the full support" of the UNC administration.

www.espn.com

Or maybe this is the dreaded vote of confidence.

Either way it'll be interesting.

 

[kidrobinski]

Hope he stays 5 more years. Love a good train wreck. Hope his woman becomes ACC commissioner.

Amen. Anything that damages UNC is aces in my book

 

[unctar2001]

Prior to the hire, UNC was way behind in their athletic modeling regarding organization and finances. The hiring process was screwed up to the point you had a Board of Trustees member jump the shark on the process to secure a meeting with Bellicheck thereby scaring off other candidates. However, the hiring of Bill Bellicheck was the only way the UNC administration was going to be pressured to remodel their entire athletic organization to catch up to what is needed to compete in 2025 and have any consideration in the future to move to the P2 if an opportunity were ever to present itself. To me, that's an indictment on the university and the handlers behind the scenes b/c anybody fluent in the world of college football can tell you, it takes a crap ton of money and a certain organizational alignment and support to compete. Add into that the changes needed for gameday operations and all that to make it a big time football atmosphere. What this hire showed leading up to the TCU game is that there are people who will support big time football at UNC. The atmosphere was the best that it's been in over 25 years for that first game. The problem is, I'm not so sure that the people behind the scenes necessarily know how to put the entire package together.

I'll ask this. If USC were to hire a coach in 2025 world, tank that program to the point to where the product on the field is one of the bottom 5 in FBS after all this buildup and fanfare while demonstrating that you have absolutely no idea on how to run a college football franchise and work with college age kids, would your administration let $21.7M stand in the way of getting rid of that problem?

So, it's a total crapshow and the stones aren't there to do anything about it b/c there are too many politicians that want to not get egg on their face and have everything be nice and civil. In the cut throat world of college football, that mindset spells death and it's why you're a historic 6-8 win program.

 

[Lurker123]

So I do agree that it's a mystery what Belichick was thinking in taking the job. Maybe he was just that clueless about how college ball worked and realized after he got into the day-to-day that it wasn't his cup of tea.

Maybe the whole thing was sold to him as a no-show job? Lend his name to the program/staff for a year or more and take a paycheck?

 

[unctar2001]

Maybe the whole thing was sold to him as a no-show job? Lend his name to the program/staff for a year or more and take a paycheck?

No, the arrogance of Bill and Lombardi thinking that they could run the show in peon college football world and out scheme, etc.

They thought recruits would flock and if they didn’t, they are so great at evaluating talent that they could take less and do more bc Bill is so much better of a coach than anybody else.

All they did in the first and most important portal period was fill roster spots. They weren’t prepared, don’t have a staff filled out, nothing. Total and complete negligence.

 

[Piscis]

No, the arrogance of Bill and Lombardi thinking that they could run the show in peon college football world and out scheme, etc.

They thought recruits would flock and if they didn’t, they are so great at evaluating talent that they could take less and do more bc Bill is so much better of a coach than anybody else.

All they did in the first and most important portal period was fill roster spots. They weren’t prepared, don’t have a staff filled out, nothing. Total and complete negligence.

Unless Belichick had been able to somehow convince Brady to come out of retirement and enroll at UNC and play football, Belichick had very little chance of being successful. He has never been successful as a head coach without Brady but he has bought into the idea that he is a great head coach.

 

[gamecock stock]

I don't think it's a huge mystery from the UNC side of things. No, if you're a Michigan or UGA or Bama, you don't make that move. Too much risk for a blue blood. But I can see why UNC might have swung for the fences on it. Best case scenario, he's successful and elevates your program. Having Belichick there gets eyes on your program. Worst case scenario, he's not successful, but it doesn't really hurt b/c your program wasn't in great shape anyway.

BUT....

I don't know that anyone could have predicted that Belichick simply would not take the job seriously at all. I saw a lot of predictions about why it may not work or probably wouldn't work, but none of those said it would be because he just wasn't going to try. Since the season started, he hasn't given any indication of really caring all that much about it.

I do agree with @Greer that the gf is a major factor. The situation was always weird because of the age difference, but there was no way of knowing that she was going to be such a presence and factor. Though it became known fairly quickly after he was hired.

So I do agree that it's a mystery what Belichick was thinking in taking the job. Maybe he was just that clueless about how college ball worked and realized after he got into the day-to-day that it wasn't his cup of tea. Given his total disconnect with college football, he would have been wise to surround himself with seasoned college coaches who know the game. Given his knowledge and experience with teaching the game, I think that might have given him a chance to succeed. But you'd still have the crazy gf factor.

The sign that Belichick is not thinking right was evident after he gave up the older chick for his current young one. The older woman, yes she is older, is way, way hotter than the young girl. But, to each their own I guess.

 

[18IsTheMan]

The sign that Belichick is not thinking right was evident after he gave up the older chick for his current young one. The older woman, yes she is older, is way, way hotter than the young girl. But, to each their own I guess.

I agree. Don't find her all that attractive. Obviously she's far from ugly, but not my cup of tea. She's young, though, and everything is still in its original position.