“To live in the past is to die in the present.” Those were the words Belichick once lived by in New England. But in Chapel Hill, even six Super Bowl rings can’t fix the outrage fans feel over his latest off-field detour. The North Carolina fans envisioned Belichick addressing the loopholes and getting the house in order. But what did the head coach do instead? He escaped to Nantucket for a romantic getaway with his lady love as UNC football ended its bye week.

Not just the fans. It looks like the analysts, too, resent Belichick for taking things too lightly. On the October 9th episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd podcast, the host Colin Cowherd shared his take on how Belichick is standing on quicksand in Chapel Hill. “One story says, and there are those disputing it, is that North Carolina and Bellichick are already working on a buyout,” said the analyst. It came with a disclaimer, “So, the person who’s stating that isn’t a big name, doesn’t work at a big company.”

But no matter what, even Cowherd agrees Belichick is running on borrowed time. He dropped a sharp jab, “There’s an ick factor. And recently, Carolina had a bye. Bill goes to Nantucket with his girlfriend.” To further strengthen his point, he compared Belichick to his contemporary college football head coaches like Oregon’s Dan Lanning. 

The Ducks’ head coach refuses to hit the ‘rest’ button as yet. They are on a 5-0 winning streak. That’s enough for recruits to swarm around Eugene. But even then, Lanning refused to leave everything on autopilot mode and is personally trying to woo the recruits. Cut to former Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s time. He was out on the recruiting trail, a day after winning the national championship. The desire to win and be successful remains second to none.

Here comes a reminder for Belichick. Cowherd shared, “So, you got to be totally committed to college football.” In photos from the getaway, the North Carolina head coach and Hudson strolled down a boardwalk on the island. The pictures complete the story of the fans’ sentiments. They want a championship-winning team, but those ambitions have gone up in smoke. 

Back in August, the former New England Patriots head coach had listed one of his Nantucket properties for sale at $3.9 million. The coach made a power play in 2014, buying 3 North Gully Road for $2.45 million, one of several coastal retreats he’s stacked up around ’Sconset. Whatever might be the case, the timing isn’t good. And even before Cowherd did, a North Carolina insider addressed the elephant in the room. 

Tar Heels’ insider’s cold truth for Bill Belichick

Belichick coached in the NFL from 1975 to 2023, making multiple stops. So, in North Carolina, he brought to the table more than four decades of pro league experience. That’s worth any resume out there. But that did not prevent Dan Wolken from uttering the hurtful reality. “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. 

Just like Cowherd, he, too, reiterated the same expectations that are set out for Belichick. Wolken said, “It’s perhaps a small thing, but it’s just part of what you do as a college coach to connect past with future, to deepen relationships and to show you care about guys who wore the uniform even if you didn’t coach them.” 

As per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, the Tar Heels stand at No. 18 with 36 recruits locked in. The total number of recruits looks good. However, there is not a single 5-star in their 2026 roster, with 26 players being 3-stars and 10 players with 4-star status. 

What fanned the heat of Bill Belichick’s hot seat was getting shamed by Dabo Swinney’s Clemson, just 11 seconds into the Clemson vs North Carolina game. Everybody was taken aback, just like Chris Fowler, who tweeted, “Whoa. Clemson scores a touchdown on its first play, and the sideline goes insane. WR Antonio Williams took a screen pass, hesitated, and threw a dot down the sideline to fellow WR T.J. Moore for a 75-yard TD. The trick play hits, and Clemson leads 7-0 immediately.”

Now the ball’s in Belichick’s court. Will he watch the bridges burn or double down on his coaching grind?