Bill Belichick‘s tenure in North Carolina hasn’t been good. It hasn’t been bad either, but the fact is maybe the expectations were a bit too high. However, he will stay at Chapel Hill, but he was forced to make decisions for the upcoming season.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN.com, Belichick decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer. Now, Belichick has two new coordinators to hire.
Kitchens was the Browns head coach back in 2019 and things didn’t go well. He was also the interim Tar Heels head coach in 2024. After Belichick was hired, he stayed. Priefer was brought by Belichick but Priefer was a member of the Freddie Kitchens Browns‘ staff too.
Belichick might unexpectedly be in the hot seat
No one will ever debate the greatness of Belichick as a head coach. But, in College Football, talent matters more than coaching. If Belichick isn’t able to recruit properly, no matter how good the coach is or the coordinators are, the team won’t get results.
The fact that Belichick is a very expensive coach means that he is expected to deliver results, and recruiting is part of his job. If he can’t recruit properly or even coach the team into playoff contention, the lack of results could put his job in jeopardy.
Improvements are expected in Belichick’s second season
Belichick is too expensive to be stuck in the limbo. Not only that, he comes with a certain degree of drama. He is too big of a name so if it goes bad, all the spotlights are on North Carolina and not in the good way.
Also, Belichick’s personal life is very public and very scrutinized. That’s been a part of all the drama involving his stay at Chapel Hill. The only way to silence all the critics is improving drastically.