Bill Belichick left the NFL to take over North Carolina with promises to remake the program and prove his coaching remained elite. Massive hype surrounded the debut, with celebrities on the sideline, sold-out Kenan Stadium, ESPN's top coverage, and a high-dollar donor funding new suites. The Tar Heels opened with an 83-yard touchdown drive but then collapsed as TCU scored 41 unanswered points to win 48-14. UNC looked unprepared, undisciplined and overmatched; missed tackles by young players exposed defensive flaws. Belichick appeared out of place amid college pageantry and maintained a stoic, reserved demeanor.
Half a century of unprecedented success, six Super Bowl rings as a head coach, the NFL's greatest defensive mind; all undone by 19-year-olds sprinting past missed tackles. Bill Belichick arrived at North Carolina promising to bend college football to his will, to build the 33rd NFL Program in Chapel Hill, and prove he still had his fastball. College football laughed. As debut flops go, North Carolina's 48-14 beatdown at the hands of TCU is as bad as it gets.
Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor and Mia Hamm patrolled the Carolina sideline on Monday night. ESPN sent its A-Team and treated the opener like a stand-in for Monday Night Football. Kenan Stadium had been sold out for months. UNC invested in new suites for the big-dollar donor who forked out over $10m to land the greatest to ever do it. By half-time, His Airness had left the building.
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