Bill Belichick stood at the microphone in a crowded reporters' room. North Carolina's season just ended with a lopsided loss to a fierce neighboring rival, ending the season with four wins.
And the head coach, a six-time Super Bowl winner, was in no mood to talk about it. A little over four minutes, actually.
“Listen, the season ended just a few minutes ago, okay?” Belichick said after a 42-19 loss to NC State on Saturday night. “So now we're going to go into the offseason. That's what we're going to do.”
UNC began the year with excitement and national attention, full of optimism — or maybe just hope — that one of the greatest coaches in NFL history could improve the program in his debut season as a college football coach. By the end of the season, Belichick fielded a team that had more double-digit losses (five) than total wins, while often offering unwanted headlines off the field.
The final blow came in Raleigh, where the Wolfpack and coach Dave Doeren were eager to pin the Tar Heels for the fifth year in a row in front of a typically raucous home crowd. And it sent the 73-year-old Belichick into the offseason with one final blow, with none of the positive marks that followed the modest successes shown in close losses or wins over some of the ACC's worst teams.
He also offered few ideas, down to the message he gave his first college team after a season of anticipation ended horribly.
“I will keep my message to the team between myself and the team,” Belichick said.
Fight on the field
The Tar Heels (4-8, 2-6) ended the season with three straight losses to state league opponents, first at Wake Forest and then at home against Duke last weekend.
It capped a season in which the Tar Heels lost five games by 16 points or more. starting with a 48-14 loss to TCU on Labor Day. — which brought ESPN College Gameday to Chapel Hill and led to countless headlines about Belichick's arrival at the college level.
That turned out to be just the beginning of trouble: The first month included crushing losses at UCF and at home to a Clemson team that would finish with its lowest winning record in 15 years. UNC's three wins against Bowl Subdivision programs came against teams with a combined record of 8-28 (Charlotte, Syracuse and Stanford), and the Tar Heels failed to win a bowl for the first time since 2018.
That hardly lives up to expectations that followed the school's hiring of Belichick in a deal that included each of his first three seasons with $10 million guaranteed in base and secondary play, as well as increased investment in the program on staff and elsewhere. Specifically, general manager Michael Lombardi said the Tar Heels “consider ourselves the 33rd [NFL] team” in their strong influence and approach.
Towards the end?
“It’s hard to find one word,” receiver Jordan Shipp said when asked how he would describe the season. “We certainly didn’t expect the season to go like this.”
Hiccups off the field
The headlines weren't just limited to game days.
There was the time Belichick banned scouts from the New England Patriots—the team he led to six Super Bowls with Tom Brady—as part of his acrimonious relationship with his former team.
There was an assistant coach suspended for violating NCAA rules. The school released brief statements from Belichick and athletic director Bubba Cunningham confirming the marriage between Belichick and UNC, itself a sign of how bumpy the first few weeks of Belichick's tenure have been.
Midway through the season, WRAL TV reported that Raleigh painted a picture of behind-the-scenes turmoil and that several players had been charged with speeding or reckless driving. And there was interest at the tabloid level in Belichick's Relationships with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson, who often appeared on the sideline before games.
All this gave opponents food to attack Belichick. And in press conferences, Belichick often fielded questions that strayed from the sport he knows so well.
Players take the lead
When Belichick met with reporters on Saturday, he deflected any general questions about the season as a whole.
“We work as a team every week,” Belichick said. “I'm sorry I don't have a season recap for you. I don't have one, we didn't do it.”
This likely allowed Shipp and linebacker Hmorie House to take the lead in responding to what went wrong and what would happen next.
“We showed glimpses, but we just didn't do enough to get some wins,” Shipp said, adding, “Deep down, we know we're not as bad as our record shows.”
Both took reporters' questions longer than Belichick, with Shipp speaking nearly twice as long. House was also asked how he would describe this most unusual time of the year.
“I would describe it as a rollercoaster of ups and downs,” he said, “but it’s a lesson.”
