The NFL’s Bill Belichick skepticism has been validated

For decades, Bill Belichick dominated the NFL like no one ever had before. A badass in a hoodie, he led his New England empire to six Super Bowl titles and 17 AFC East crowns and through countless controversies.

From success to scandal, fashion choices to news conference one-liners, he was always on top in the NFL.

He actually still is.

An NFC player personnel director said, “I don’t think there’s a conversation these days where what’s happening with the Bills isn’t mentioned in the first five minutes.”

Necks bent due to train wrecks, and Belichick’s early tenure University of North Carolina Qualifies as one.

Disgraced in a league he once dominated, Belichick headed to the college ranks in hopes of finding success this year. Instead, they’ve produced a wobbly, embarrassing soap opera of a season so far. The Tar Heels are 2-3 and desperately short on talent after losing 39 players from last year’s team and bringing in over 40 transfers. they move forward period Friday as a 10.5-point underdog.

Jokes happen frequently. Schadenfreude is like that too. Most notably, though, the Chapel Hill scene provided validation for NFL teams, who similarly passed on hiring him after Belichick and the Patriots parted ways after the 2023 season.

The school’s chancellor and athletic director attended Belichick’s weekly UNC news conference on Monday, an effort to show a united front against speculation of a possible firing and/or resignation.

“Any reports of me looking for a buyout or trying to leave are completely false,” Belichick said. “There’s no truth to any of this. I’m glad I’m here.”

Where he really wanted to be was in the NFL. Multiple sources say that as he limped through his final season in New England — an indifferent 4-13 campaign — the legendary coach began to look at life after Foxboro not with fear but with excitement.

Armed with perhaps the greatest coaching resume of all time, he hoped another NFL team would soon hire him. After all, he spent decades defeating them all.

Seven franchises (Atlanta, Carolina, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle, Tennessee and Washington) will have openings. At least four more (Chicago, Dallas and both New York teams) could have reasonably gotten their man to reach Belichick. Even Philadelphia seemed a possibility.

Instead, only Atlanta interviewed Belichick, and the Falcons then selected Raheem Morris.

According to sources, at that time there was not much perception about the league that the 73-year-old player had lost anything as a coach.

What was even more troubling was that Belichick was set in his ways and would not relinquish control over player personnel decisions, which doomed the end of his time in New England. The trend in the NFL was for front offices to operate with some degree of independence. Could Belichick’s famous control methods allow this?

Essentially, the man famous for the phrase “do your job” won’t do just one thing – coach the team. Overwhelmed by personality potential. His looming feud with Patriots owner Robert Kraft further heightened concerns.

It is not that all those franchises took good decisions. Las Vegas and Tennessee have already changed the coaches they selected to replace Belichick. New York Jets It took another year before regime change, perhaps for the worse.

If Belichick was swinging to Chapel Hill, as he speculates, the sentiment on How You Like Me Now might be swinging in the other direction. However, he is not. Against three Power 4 opponents, his team has gone 120-33.

There’s no shortage of media stories about frustrated players, disgruntled parents, and general chaos. A coach who once demanded discipline now runs a team without it. A leader who once condemned distraction is now in the newspapers. The debate rages over how much of the Patriots’ success was actually due to Tom Brady.

Belichick and UNC general manager Michael Lombardi clearly don’t fully understand how college football works. He dubbed the Tar Heels the NFL’s 33rd team, but roster construction, especially through the transfer portal, has failed so far.

With money, attention, and Belichick’s pipeline-to-professional credibility, UNC brought in 70 new players. It should be at least decent. Instead, some NFL scouts call it one of the worst rosters in the ACC.

The two explained their plans to multiple sources last fall and dismissed suggestions that college is unique — despite longtime NFL head coaches Herm Edwards (Arizona State) and Lovie Smith (Illinois) making similar attempts in recent years without much success. Going the other direction, college greats from Urban Meyer to Steve Spurrier have often been out-rushed in the NFL, and even Nick Saban has regressed. miami dolphins Alabama after two seasons.

This is what the NFL has captured. That’s basically why interest in Belichick waned due to bad personnel decisions. Only now it’s in the college portal, not the professional draft.

Perhaps Belichick can still coach, but not with the roster he built.

“It’s a learning curve,” Belichick acknowledged Monday. “We’re all in this together. But we’re making a lot of progress, and the process will ultimately yield the same results we want as they have everywhere else I’ve been.”

“Wherever he’s gone” is being watched closely, a league still attracted to him, just not for the reasons Belichick hoped.