Former Patriots player explains why he’s ‘not surprised’ by Bill Belichick’s rollercoaster start to UNC season
Bill Belichick surely didn’t envision a world where he needs to release a statement alongside UNC saying that he remains fully committed to the college football program just five games into his tenure.
Alas, that’s the rollercoaster ride he and the rest of the Tar Heels have been on this season.
Belichick’s first crack at being a head coach in college football has seen a 2-3 record on the books with multiple blowout losses, rumors that the university is considering his buyout already, and drama on and off the field.
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While Belichick maintained that he’s “fully committed to UNC Football and the program we’re building here,” one of his former NFL players isn’t surprised at all by what’s happening in Chapel Hill.
“I’m not surprised, and I only say it only for this simple fact: Bill Belichick has never been a college football coach before,” Damien Harris, the former New England Patriots running back and current college football analyst, told Fox News Digital, while highlighting his partnership with Dr. Pepper. “He’s the best to ever coach in the NFL. Respect. Tip my hat to him. I played for him, I believe it, and I respect it. That doesn’t mean you can up and go to the college level and have that same success.
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“When you see a lot of NFL coaches go to college, they usually take coordinator jobs because they have a higher level of X’s and O’s thinking than most college coaches or college football players have. But to go from head coach to head coach, and then you have to worry about all the other things.”
It’s true the college game compared to the NFL is a completely different beast. The X’s and O’s that Harris mentions may be the same, but a college head coach has more responsibilities outside the film room and meeting auditoriums.
Considering Harris spent his rookie contract in New England under Belichick as the team’s third-round pick out of Alabama in 2019, he knows better than most the new leader in Chapel Hill doesn’t do well with those “distractions,” which includes a very public relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson.
“I just thought that, from my experience with Bill and how much he does not care about anything that doesn’t incorporate to winning football games,” Harris explained. “Thinking about [how] he’s gotta go out and gotta recruit. He’s gotta go out, he’s gotta politick. He’s got a new relationship now that I’m sure he’s happy, but might be a distraction now in watching tape, watching film and being as sharp as he usually is.”
Harris pointed to his belief of the “ideal” path for NFL coaches to the college level being in the coordinator realm, much like Matt Patricia with the Ohio State Buckeyes right now. Patricia, who worked under Belichick for years in multiple roles with the Patriots, ended up getting a crack at being an NFL head coach with the Detroit Lions, which didn’t work out.
Patricia ended up back with the Patriots, and finally with the Philadelphia Eagles before Ryan Day hired him as the team’s defensive coordinator this season. The Buckeyes have the No. 1 defense in the country now.
It may be ideal, but Belichick never wanted to be a coordinator. He was searching for a head coaching job in the NFL following his departure from the Patriots after 23 seasons leading them as head coach. He was in the media space all through last season, while still searching for that next opportunity.
While it didn’t come to fruition in the NFL, the UNC job was offered, and he ran with it. But Harris didn’t see his old coach hitting the ground running and taking the Tar Heels to the next level.
This is a totally different game, and perhaps one Belichick isn’t suited for long-term.
“When you factor all of those things in, I can honestly say I’m not surprised,” Harris concluded. “Not because I thought Bill was a bad coach, not because I didn’t think he could do it. I just saw, again because I played the college game and it’s much different now than it was back then, there are more responsibilities that he had to tend to that he normally doesn’t because it’s a distraction from the actual football game itself.”
FUELING RIVALRIES
While Harris provides fine analysis of Belichick and the rest of the college game throughout the season, he’s completely invested in his No. 6 Crimson Tide, especially this week as they host No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa.
Dr. Pepper is hosting a special game day event to debut “The Pepper Portal,” which is a first-of-its-kind fan experience connecting rival college towns before the big game. Harris will be representing the Crimson Tide, while current Patriots quarterback Josh Dobbs, an ex-Volunteers signal caller, will be on the road with him.
These two will be engaging with fans through the Pepper Portal, meeting local NIL talent onsite and sharing their thoughts for who will come out victorious on Saturday night.
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