Bill Belichick finally provides UNC with a pulse, but now he has to earn that $10 million paycheck
The return of Bill Belichick to the North Carolina sidelines in 2026 has clearly not drummed up the type of national attention that folks in Chapel Hill were anticipating when he was hired almost two years ago.
When the Tar Heels took to the field in Ireland on Saturday afternoon against TCU to kick off the college football season, the focus was more on the offseason turmoil than on Belichick roaming the sidelines.
That turmoil remains a problem and is not going away anytime soon.
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But, that doesn’t mean the 15-10 win over TCU will go unnoticed. For the first time in his tenure at North Carolina, this Belichick-led team looked as though it had a pulse.
The offseason has been filled with questions about general manager Michael Lombardi, who was placed on administrative leave amid the school’s ongoing investigation into an HR complaint, as well as Belichick’s son remaining on medical leave, forcing his father to take on a larger role calling the defense.
But, compared to what we all witnessed after the first quarter during their 2025 matchup with TCU, it does look as though North Carolina is a tougher team in 2026.
So, I guess not all is lost in Chapel Hill.
It obviously doesn’t help gauge how much they've actually improved when you’re facing a TCU team that had to replace starting quarterback Josh Hoover after he transferred to Indiana.
Thankfully for North Carolina fans who are trying their hardest to buy into this team in 2026, Belichick went out and hired Bobby Petrino to lead his offense.
Yes, in case you were wondering, that's the same Petrino who crashed out at Arkansas. But, Bobby could end up being the most pivotal hire that the UNC coach has made during his short stint in college football.
Will it matter that the Tar Heels looked like a different team compared to what we witnessed last year? I have no idea, given who is on their schedule this season.
But, there's at least hope after one game.
Sure, it's week one and we are always going to overanalyze teams.
Are North Carolina and TCU going to compete for conference titles this season?
I'd have a better shot at convincing a local state judge to grant me an injunction that would allow us to fast-forward past the upcoming debate on congressional legislation to "save" college sports.
For the first time since arriving in Chapel Hill, this North Carolina football program looked as if it had a pulse. If you are a fan of the Tar Heels, I wouldn’t pay much attention to predictions for the season.
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If things start trending in a downward direction, there will be numerous donors and athletic department officials crunching the numbers on a buyout that would cost the school more than $10 million if they were to make the decision to let Belichick go before season's end.
On the other hand, this has the makings of a rough season for Sonny Dykes and the TCU football program if this type of play is what we should expect in 2026. It's clear that not having Josh Hoover is going to be a problem on offense, while the defense is going to struggle against a tougher line of scrimmage.
The worst part of the broadcast for North Carolina fans came when ESPN announcers suggested that making a bowl game should be viewed as a successful season.
In what world is that acceptable for a coach making $10 million per season?
Heck, the Tar Heels had that under Mack Brown. It doesn’t matter what type of rebuild the UNC program has undergone over the past eighteen months, making the "Fenway Bowl" is not the definition of success.
Sure, UNC plays both Notre Dame and Clemson over the next month, but let's not act as if Dabo Swinney has turned the Tigers back into national title contenders.
But the win over TCU provided fans of the UNC program hope.
Simply put: North Carolina fans deserved this moment on Saturday.
Congrats on the win against TCU, especially those that traveled to Ireland to witness it.