🤜 Hello, Tar Heel fans. Andy and Reed here. Football practice officially kicked off a couple days ago, and the season is just around the corner.
So in this edition, we’re debating the merits of arguably the athletic department’s most high-profile — and controversial — move in many years.
Was hiring Bill Belichick a good or bad idea?
Let’s get to it…
1. 👍 Pro Chapel Bill: Why I’m willing to give Belichick a chance
Andy writes…
If any other team had hired this guy, would I have absolutely blasted it? I’m sure I would have.
Have we reached the point with football that we are so desperate for success that we are closing our eyes to the fact that this guy has a lot of stink on him? Probably so.
Here’s the thing, though. You have to be good at football now. You just have to. I don’t like it any more than many of you do.
California and Stanford are in the Atlantic Coast Conference, for god’s sake. All in the name of football conference realignment. If you are good at football, it feeds every other sport at the school.
Look at the SEC in basketball this past year. There’s no doubt they are the premier conference in football, and because of the truckloads of cash coming their way, they’ve now become the best basketball conference.
Alabama and Auburn were No. 1 and No. 2 in the country last year at one point. In basketball. That was unthinkable five years ago.
Carolina has been good for decades at everything except football. Mostly, that’s been good enough. We celebrated the women’s soccer team. We watched Erin Matson do unprecedented things in Field Hockey. The baseball team made occasional trips to Omaha.
That’s Carolina. A well-rounded program that made you proud and produced great stories year after year. Go Heels.
The time when that matters is coming to an end, if it’s not already over. Without a football program that brings cash money into the university, the ability to keep up in all of the other sports will not be possible.
Maybe we’ve made a deal with the devil in a way. Bill Belichick, and the money commitment that the university chunked down with that contract, is at least an attempt by the administration to go all-in on football and keep UNC relevant.
Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe I am talking myself into this take because UNC hasn’t done anything significant in football in 45 (!) years.
Maybe. I’m willing to take the chance with a little stink if it means all of the things I love about Carolina sports continue to thrive.
2. 👎 Anti Chapel Bill: Maybe the Patriots are hiring?
Reed writes…
I’ve never liked Bill Belichick.
Part of it is that I live in New York City and hating that dude has always been like the favorite regional pastime.
The Patriots could have been playing the San Diego Xenomorphs, and I would have been rooting for the aliens.
But it’s not just his legacy with the Patriots or some petty jealousy over his many Super Bowl titles, as some would suggest.
I never liked him for him. It’s pure. A few reasons:
He’s a sourpuss. From a personality perspective he seems unlikable in absolutely every way. His press conferences back in the day were legendary for their lack of warmth, and I honestly can’t think of a single time I’ve seen him smile. No wonder that he reportedly campaigned hard to land an NFL job before settling at Carolina, but there were no takers. He seemingly has few friends in the league.
His girlfriend. I’m usually of the view that someone’s personal life is their personal life, and it’s none of my business. Just not in the case of Jordon Hudson. His relationship with her, I do think, suggests something about him — none of it great. Best case, he has colossally bad judgement in dating someone younger than one of his sweatshirts and letting it play out in public in the messy way it has. Worst case, he’s given her too much power and ultimately hurt the UNC football program.
He’s a cheater. The case is pretty open and shut. He will do whatever it takes to win, including breaking rules. The instances are too numerous to mention in the space here, but lemme just refresh your memory about a couple. There was Spygate, where he was fined $50k after the Patriots were caught videotaping opposing teams in order to steal signs, Deflategate — even charges of allegedly bugging the opponent’s locker room.
I dunno, man. Not really the Carolina Way.
When rumors were flying that UNC might actually hire him, I was crossing my fingers hard it would never happen. Aside from personally feeling he’s not the right man for the job, I just felt conflicted.
I love the Tar Heels, but I loathe Belichick and I didn’t want to spend his entire tenure — however long that turns out to be — with mixed feelings.
I never want a reason to root less than 100% for the Heels, and, honestly, this is the first decision the university has made in my memory that’s left me feeling like I might.
Don’t get me wrong. I’d never root against them, but as long as Belichick is on the sidelines, I — and my guess is, others — will feel a little less invested in the team.
3. Debate: Good or bad?
Reed: This is a tough question, Andy. What happens when the university hires someone you don’t support? I mean, I suppose you could just say, “I hated him when he was their guy, but now that he’s our guy, I’ve totally changed my outlook! Go Heels!”
It’s a similar struggle we might face when an artist turns out to be a creep. I mean, should we stop reading Neil Gaiman books?
I really don’t have the answer.
Andy: I think your views are really tainted by your New Yorkness, Reed. If he had turned the Cleveland Browns into a juggernaut, I think you’d be a little more neutral on Chapel Bill.
Maybe he’s truly looking for a fresh start in college and I’m willing to start fresh with him too.
Also, when football is good, it’s really fun. I like that the university realizes that and is at least trying to be a national story.
Reed: It’s a national story, all right. But probably not in the way the university hoped.
But I do hear you about going all in on football and how good it would be to have a nationally relevant program. However, do you think Belichick is the guy to get us there? To me, UNC pulled a geriatric Deion Sanders. That guy gets a ton of hype and he’s basically delivered a .500 record.
Andy: UNC Football is not at the point where we can pull Nick Saban out of retirement or Kirby Smart away from Georgia. They couldn’t even convince the Iowa State coach to come. It was going to be a roll of the dice anyway you look at it, so why not get a guy who needs two hands to display his Super Bowl rings?
You could make the argument that Belichick wasn’t successful without Tom Brady, and you’d have a case. But he’s not scheming against the Eagles D this year. It’s a very weak ACC.
If his name alone starts pulling in 5-stars and top-notch portal talent, it will have been a massive success.
Reed: I guess if wins and talent is our only measurement, sure. But this whole saga has forced me to confront my own reasons for why I support a person or an institution, and yeah, I’ll admit they’re kinda muddy.
Still, I’d like to think I don’t just love people like Roy Williams or Dean Smith because they’re UNC guys. It’s also about something bigger than that.
Belichick has none of that “extra” for me. He’s just a mercenary hire who may or may not turn the program around.
But if he does, I guess we’ll see where I really stand. Check back in December.
4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks
When we used to do the podcast, we’d end every episode with that week’s reason why Duke sucked. The tradition continues here.
Cameron Boozer would like to turn your attention to a grave injustice in the basketball world.
The incoming five-star (of course) thinks that Duke is just not getting enough attention and is being overlooked.
Right, because if there’s one thing we know the Blue Devils lack it’s media coverage. When’s the last time their game was even available on television or that someone in the national media wrote a story about one of their players?
Look, it’s bad enough that we now have to suffer through a second generation of Dookies — Cameron is Carlos Boozer’s son — but the fact that these dudes already have a Dookie chip on their shoulder before they’ve even played a game?
It’s too much to take.
Especially seeing as how we all know ESPN and the other sports press will heap more coverage on Duke this upcoming season than all other schools combined.
But apparently in the players’ minds, if Duke isn’t predicted to be the No. 1 team in the preseason the minute the last season ended, it’s a travesty.
👋 That’s all for now. Hope you’re enjoying your summer and maybe taking a vacation or two.
We’re on a summer schedule ourselves, but will be back to weekly publishing in September.
And remember: Hit us up. Send your comments and questions to thbthd@gmail.com.
Go Heels!