The Patriot … err, sorry, the Tar Heel Way apparently isn’t for everybody.
Bill Belichick is apparently no Rodney Dangerfield when it comes to going back to school, with the gruff coach failing, as of a month or two ago, to endear himself to those in the program, according to Tom Curran, a longtime Boston reporter who covered Belichick.
Curran’s report comes alongside a recent article from The Athletic highlighting several notable concerns about Belichick’s short tenure.
“From rumblings I heard, and this is not recent, and this a month or two ago, they’re not loving the Bill Belichick experience if you’re an everyday employee down there, which is probably what a lot of the people here in 2000 felt when Bill came aboard and said, ‘I don’t know if I like this.’ It’s uncomfortable,” Curran said Thursday on Boston’s “WEEI Afternoons.”
Belichick’s transition from being arguably the greatest coach in NFL history to a first-time college head coach is one of the biggest storylines entering the upcoming college season.
While there’s no doubt about the 73-year-old Belichick’s coaching prowess, there are some who wonder how his coaching methods will translate to college, where he’ll be dealing with NIL and powerful boosters, and yet again won’t have Tom Brady alongside him to navigate the field.
North Carolina recently held its spring practice for the public, and Curran referenced an article from The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, who didn’t initially love the hire and offered five takeaways thus far on Belichick.
Curran mentioned how the article noted how Belichick — and his assistants — continue to be non-media friendly, having avoided media interviews outside of in-house content.
There’s also the emphasis on pro development, with Curran referencing Mandel writing how general manager Michael Lombardi said the program considers itself the 33rd NFL team and has featured recent visits from former Super Bowl champions David Andrews and Rob Ninkovich.
UNC even labeled a recent public practice as “Practice like a pro,” although fans may not have known the future pros since Belichick has removed numbers from jerseys.
“To me, he’s running it that way,” Curran said.
How Belichick is running the program has not turned off recruits thus far, as Curran referenced Mandel, noting how North Carolina has the No. 12 recruiting class for 2026, per 247 Sports.
The caveat is that it is super early, so plenty of teams have not yet filled out their classes.
One topic Mandel covered that WEEI did not ask Curran about is the polarizing presence of Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.
Belichick previously asked for emails to him to CC his younger girlfriend, and The Athletic revealed how she recently emailed the school regarding how it presented son and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick, along with concerns about message board comments about Belichick.
“Is there anyone monitoring the UNC Football page for slanderous commentary and subsequently deleting it / blocking users that are harassing BB in the comments?” Hudson wrote in a Feb. 13 email.
UNC opens the season at home against TCU on Sept. 1.
