Seven weeks into the 2025 season, it’s now time to find out how college football’s one of the biggest gambles paid off. Yes, it’s Bill Belichick trying his hand in college football at the age of 72. The Tar Heels are now running with a record of four losses and one win. So, it’s obvious that Belichick’s role is under the watchful radar. Both the Tar Heels’ offense and defense are struggling at historic levels. But Belichick stands there as a pillar of rock, shielding his boys from any negative attacks. 

On October 12, Brad Crawford shared a clip of Pat Welter’s interview with Belichick. It was later reshated by Welter himself, with the message, “All I can do is ask the question. Bill’s message today was pretty much everything is fine.” In that interview, Belichick said, “We’ll have that are saying that, but I think anybody that’s around on a daily basis would, you know, would see that. And I’m sure the players all see the improvement that they’re making as this coaching staff.”

Well, Walter did not forget to rip the band-aid off Belichick’s yet fresh wound, the 38-10 loss to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers. The Tar Heels fell prey to 28-3 in the first quarter, leaving them almost playing in front of a deserted stadium. Belichick’s offense mustered a season-low 78 first-half yards and averaged just 4.5 yards per play. But still then Belichick believes the process is working out, “Yeah, 100%. Yeah, absolutely. It’s a learning curve, we’re all in it together, but we’re making a lot of progress.”

Facing a weaker Clemson team than anticipated, the Tar Heels had a chance to bounce back. But poor Belichick’s boys. Clemson scored a 75-yard touchdown off a double pass on the first play of the game. Clemson dominated from start to finish, racking up close to 500 total yards while resting Cade Klubnik for most of the second half.

Cut to Belichick’s offense. The Tar Heels’ woes were glaring. Just over five yards per pass and barely three per run, and somehow, Troy, a last-place Sun Belt team, looked more formidable. Yet then, Belichick refuses to hear any foul words for his boys. “The process will eventually produce the results that we want to produce, like they have everywhere else I’ve been. So I’m very confident that players are working hard, they’re getting better, and we’re going to continue to do that and improve,” the North Carolina head coach assured. With this, can the self-sabotaging debate be put to rest?

North Carolina GM puts Bill Belichick in hot water

Unlike how Belichick held a positive attitude both for the analyst and his players, his GM, Michael Lombardi, caught side eyes for being adamant to the reporters. On The Audible podcast, Bruce Feldman shared his views: “I noticed over the weekend that where GM, Mike Lombardi, who’s the highest paid GM in the country in college football, $1.5 million a year, he didn’t respond to our requests for comments, but it seems like he had spoken to some reporters around the country.”

For those who blamed Belichick for carrying problems from the New England Patriots to Chapel Hill, it no longer exists. That’s because it’s Lombardi who is sabotaging Belichick’s reputation. Already, the GM has been in the hot seat because of his outdated approach to college football recruiting. As per the reports, it was Belichick’s GM who passed on a proven quarterback in the portal. The reason?

According to Lombardi’s standards, he was “undersized.” And guess who that player was? Chandler Morris, who has been one of the most proven players in the ACC with Virginia, carries a good resume of 1,428 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and only 4 picks. A major miss for Belichick and co. indeed.

However, even with the Michael Lombardi mistreatment factor coming into play, Bill Belichick’s seat does not get any less hot. As Dan Wolken had already confirmed that his time might run out at any moment. “Bill, here’s some free advice: In North Carolina, they don’t care about you enough to put up with all this. You’re not one of them. They merely hired you to do a job. And if you don’t want to do it, rest assured they will find someone else who will,” said the analyst. Time will tell which carries more weight: Belichick’s unwavering confidence in his players or the fans’ growing doubts about the program.