As an NFL coach, Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest to ever step on the field. He has eight Super Bowls, including six as the head coach of the New England Patriots. However, he’s in college with the North Carolina Tar Heels right now, where he’s been a bit of a bust.
Belichick went to UNC ahead of the 2025 season. There, he expected to have a major advantage due to his NFL success, but that wasn’t the case, as the Tar Heels would go just 4-8. It was a stark contrast from his 266-121 record with the Patriots.
Now, Belichick is looking to have better success in his second college season, but that doesn’t seem likely. Michael Lombardi, Belichick’s GM who has ties going back to the Patriots, has been placed on paid administrative leave. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Steve Belichick is away from the team with a medical issue.
Paul Finebaum Has Nothing Good to Say About Former New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick
GettyFormer New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the sideline during a game.
The 2026 college football season is just about to start, and Patriots fans may be interested in watching Bill Belichick and North Carolina in Week 0. However, if ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum is watching, it may be out of spite. He’d go on First Take on Tuesday to rip Belichick and the job he’s done so far in college.
“I’m not pulling for Bill Belichick,” Paul Finebaum said. “He’s a grouch, he’s a bully, and his career in college is about to go down in flames.”
Finebaum would reference the turnover at North Carolina. In particular, Michael Lombardi and Steve Belichick leaving. In fact, Finebaum even warned that he expects Belichick will join them before the season ends.
“It is mass chaos in Chapel Hill… I don’t think Bill Belichick is going to survive until the end of the season,” Finebaum said.
Worse than that, Finebaum also believes that Belichick is hurting the reputation he built up as an NFL coach. This is already after Brady seemingly has earned more credit in recent years for what the Patriots accomplished than Belichick has.
“The idea that somebody who has easily wrapped up the title as the greatest NFL coach of all time, with his six championships in the Super Bowl… is going to go down in flames,” Finebaum said. “But he did it to himself. He couldn’t accept that nobody in the NFL wanted him anymore, and because he is Bill Belichick and he knows more than anybody, even though we now know that it was Tom Brady who led him to all those Super Bowl championships… Bill Belichick had to find a university that would offer him a job, and he would show the world that he is the greatest coach of all time.”
The last couple of seasons for Belichick with the Patriots went poorly, too. He struggled to find new talent, and the game seemingly passed him by. Nothing is different in college. He’s struggling to find talent and looks old compared to other programs. That’s something he can’t afford if he does want to turn things around.
“Instead he’s proven to be a disaster. He’s one of the worst college football coaches in a short period of time I have ever seen,” Finebaum said. “And I see no way this is going to be a successful landing or ending for Belichick.”
Belichick Opens the UNC Season in Dublin
GettyNorth Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick
North Carolina and Bill Belichick will have all eyes on them on Saturday, August 29th. That’s when the Tar Heels will kickoff the 2026 season in Dublin, Ireland, against the TCU Horned Frogs.
Belichick and North Carolina opened the 2026 season at home against TCU. That ended in a 48-14 loss for the Tar Heels and was a portender of doom to come. Now, DraftKings has North Carolina as better than a touchdown underdog again.
There are a couple of other games in Week 0, but North Carolina vs. TCU is one of only two between Power Four opponents. It’s also the only game at the 12:00 p.m. EST time slot. So, if people want to watch a game, it’s the only option, and everyone will see what Belichick manages to do or not do.
Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Ripped by Paul Finebaum, Given Warning