North Carolina’s football team may be better than it was a year ago, but that hasn’t translated into real buzz in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels are at least in position to make a bowl game, and their Saturday showing against Notre Dame offered a reason to believe this group is not nearly as far from the nation’s top teams as it was last season. There is a case to be made that North Carolina is simply a better football team right now.
Still, the bigger issue is what that improvement has actually changed. According to one recent take from The Athletic, it hasn’t moved the needle much with the people who matter most.
“The other upside of hiring a six-time Super Bowl champion is - maybe - he builds your program into a national champion. There’s yet to be a shred of evidence that Belichick can build and guide North Carolina’s roster into the kind of behemoth that can go on the road in the ACC, play poorly and win by double digits while barely being threatened with a loss. Notre Dame did that on Saturday…
“North Carolina isn’t a meaningful participant in the national college football conversation. Its own fan base seems uninterested and is voting with its feet by finding other places to be on fall Saturdays,” David Ubben of The Athletic wrote.
The expectations were obvious when North Carolina brought in Bill Belichick. With a coach of that stature and the money the school is putting into the football program, the hope was that elite recruits would be easier to land. That hasn’t happened.
Belichick has already been a problem in a number of ways over the past two seasons, but the recruiting disappointment is part of the story too. The idea was that his name alone would help North Carolina sell itself to top talent. So far, that hasn’t been the case.
And then there’s the reality of life in Chapel Hill: basketball rules the place. North Carolina’s hoops program is unquestionably one of the best in college sports, and that shapes how fans view everything else. Even if the football team were to become one of the country’s better programs, it would still have to fight for attention against a basketball brand that already sits near the top of the sport.
In Other News...
UNC Just Took A Big Step In Building Belichicks Football Operation
North Carolinas football overhaul is moving into a more formal phase, with the school bringing in ZRG Turnkey to run the search for its next football general manager. The hire fits the larger push around Bill Belichicks program, where the Tar Heels are building out the kind of front office structure more commonly seen in the NFL than in college football.
Sean Magee, ZRG Turnkeys vice president of GM solutions and a former Michigan football general manager, will also serve as a consultant to support the GM role, athletic director Steve Newmark and Belichick. Magees background stretches across the college and pro game, including stops with Michigan, the Chicago Bears and Navy, giving UNC an experienced hand as it shapes the operation around its new head coach. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Jordan Just Gave UNC Fans Another Reason To Be Proud
Michael Jordan has added another major chapter to his long UNC legacy, this time off the court. The Basketball Hall of Famer made a $10 million donation to the University of North Carolina School of Social Work in honor of his mother, Deloris P. Jordan, giving the school its largest gift ever and tying his name to work that will support students and families for years to come.
The money is set to help the Global Social Development Innovations Center, the Jordan Institute for Families, and scholarships for Master of Social Work students, while UNC has also created the Jordan Family Scholars program to award scholarships to 10 students as part of the commitment. For Tar Heels fans, it is another reminder that Jordan's bond with Chapel Hill still runs deep, and it comes with the kind of impact that reaches well beyond the basketball program. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Faces One Pittsburgh Problem That Could Dig The ACC Hole Deeper
North Carolina heads into another demanding ACC test this week, and the setup does not get any easier after the Tar Heels ran into No. 3 Notre Dame. Now it is No. 25 Pittsburgh on the schedule, a team that has already shown it can win tight games and put real pressure on a defense for four quarters.
The Panthers offense runs through sophomore quarterback Mason Heintschel, whose production has made him one of the leagues most dangerous passers and helped Pittsburgh stay on the right side of several close calls. With two games already decided by five points or fewer, including a recent win over Virginia Tech, this is the kind of matchup that can deepen North Carolinas ACC trouble if it cannot slow the passing game early. [Read more 🡒]