Paul Finebaum isn’t buying the Bill Belichick project at North Carolina, and he made that clear on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s First Take.
The ESPN voice said he expects Belichick’s run in Chapel Hill to end before the 2026 season is over, even though the coach still has a year left on his contract. Finebaum argued that if UNC were going to move on early, it would need to already have a replacement lined up. Otherwise, he questioned the point of ending the experiment before it fully plays out.
"I'm not pulling for Bill Belichick," Finebaum said. "He's a grouch, he's a bully and his career in college is about to go down in flames... it is mass chaos in Chapel Hill,"
That skepticism comes after UNC went 4-8 under Belichick last year. Finebaum said he doesn’t see the Tar Heels turning things around, and he went even further by predicting Belichick won’t make it to the finish line of the season.
"I don't think Bill Belichick is going to survive until the end of the season," he added.
Belichick’s arrival brought plenty of attention, but Finebaum said the results haven’t matched the noise. He pointed to the lack of on-field success and said the headline-grabbing moments away from football haven’t changed the bigger picture for the former NFL coach, who has long leaned on his championship résumé.
"I see no way this is going to be a successful landing or ending for Belichick," Finebaum said as a parting shot.
UNC opens against Big 12 dark horse TCU in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday (Noon ET, ESPN).
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Bill Belichick Just Got A Brutal Warning At North Carolina
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Paul Finebaum added to the scrutiny on First Take, saying he is not backing Belichick and painting a bleak picture of how his college run could unfold. For North Carolina, the game against TCU is more than just a season opener. It is an early chance to show whether the program can stabilize under Belichick or whether the skepticism around his move to college football will only grow louder. [Read more 🡒]