Bill Belichick Apparently Isn't Very Popular At North Carolina

When the North Carolina Tar Heels hired Bill Belichick as their new head coach, there were any number of questions as to how the 73-year-old would do in college.

Recruiting high schools and transfer portal players is completely different than anything Belichick dealt with while with the New England Patriots and in the NFL. Then there's dealing with university boosters; instead of answering to just owner Robert Kraft, Belichick would have to keep big-dollar donors happy. 

Of course, there's also a whole new staff of people to deal with. Both within the athletic department and the university at large. New media and reporters to talk to. Or not talk to. 

All of it adds up to make the Belichick experiment in Chapel Hill a bit more uncertain. Especially given his somewhat prickly demeanor. And so far, according to several reports, it hasn't exactly been the smoothest transition. 

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 14: Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels addresses the crowd during halftime in the game against the La Salle Explorers at the Dean E. Smith Center on December 14, 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

UNC Community ‘Not Loving’ Bill Belichick Experience

Tom Curran, a Boston sports reporter with a long history of covering the legendary head coach, appeared on Boston's "WEEI Afternoons" show this week to discuss the transition to college football. 

And Curran, who also refrenced another article from The Athletic, said that there's been a number of issues to pop up already. 

"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 during the interview. 

Curran, and The Athletic, mentioned that Belichick has done little in the way of local media. There's been some in-house content posted by UNC, but just one interview with outside sources. 

Because he's treated his staff and team like an NFL program, there's no numbers available on practice jerseys, making it hard to tell who's doing what. And of course, no one from Belichick on down will be forthcoming about it.

It's not too surprising that UNC staff and local media aren't happy with the current iteration of the Belichick experience. It was also going to be a transition to someone who's infamously private, and who now has a girlfriend intimately involved in operations.

READ: Bill Belichick's UNC Emails Revealed As Girlfriend Takes Prominent Role

But winning and success fixes everything. While the 2025 season might not be an immediate turnaround for the Tar Heels program, Belichick's already built an exceptional 2026 recruiting class. Early in the process, at least. It might take some time to pay off, but it wouldn't be surprising to see much more positive reports moving forward. If they win.