After watching North Carolina football's lopsided 48-14 loss to TCU in Bill Belichick's collegiate debut, Bill Simmons is having trouble processing what he saw. Belichick vowed that his Tar Heels are better than the 34-point blowout endured in the regular-season opener. Still, it's difficult for Simmons, the Massachusetts native, to watch the future Hall of Fame head coach stumble out of the gates of his tenure with North Carolina.
Simmons reacted to Belichick's NCAA debut with the Tar Heels on his Bill Simmons Podcast.
“I was really bummed. I thought he was going to be awesome as this like last act college thing. And it was so bad I don’t even know how to process it,” Simmons said. “It was interesting how many people were delighted that it was bad and some of that he brings on himself. Like he was a d– the last 12 years when he coached. The Jordon Hudson thing I weird, I get it. But this guy is still the greatest NFL coach of all time.
“And it was the first time I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh man, I hope they don’t go like three and eight, this is just like sad,’” Simmons concluded.
For a Patriots fan who celebrated six Super Bowl victories with Belichick at the helm, Simmons couldn't have imagined a worse start at UNC. After the loss, Belichick addressed the media, per ESPN's David Hale.
“We're better than what we were tonight, but we have to go out there and show that and prove it,” Belichick said. “Nobody's going to do it for us. We're going to have to do it ourselves, and that's what we're going to do.”
Insider amplifies pressure on Bill Belichick, North Carolina football
After one game, the pressure on Bill Belichick amid North Carolina football tenure is starting to mount. However, things could get worse before they get better, according to The Atheltic's Ralph D. Russo via The Audible Podcast.
“There's this feeling that they made this hire to create this incredible enthusiasm,” he said. “But there's also an acknowledgement among everybody at North Carolina that you still have to win and you have to win quickly and you kind of have to win kind of big. To give the people, the fans to stay invested. And then to get the investors, literally the investors, to keep investing.”
North Carolina will face UNC Charlotte on Saturday.
