Bill Belichick is officially holding the reins of the North Carolina Tar Heels. What does that mean? For most people, this transition to college football isn’t the brightest decision by the former NFL HC. For Belichick, who spent almost five decades in the pro league, it’s going to be a major shift. Some analysts have even gone to the extent that this transition could replay a past college football controversy. Only that, the present situation could be worse. 

Media personality Colin Cowherd is among the anti-Belichick group who feels that Bill Belichick’s entry to college football could be challenging. In a new YouTube episode on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on December 17, he predicted that the new UNC HC will be “one and done” with the Tar Heels. He said, “I think he’s gonna jet us in college football. I think he’s gonna be aggravated. This staff he’s building is a pro staff. They’re going to rub people the wrong way in the building. It’s going to be Charlie Weis times 10.”

Do you remember the infamous Charlie Weis controversy? It happened back in late 2004 when Notre Dame hired him to replace Tyrone Willingham, which became an example of how a college football program could suffer with a bad coach hiring decision. Weis signed a six-year contract that would pay him $2 million annually. But after his first two seasons in South Bend, the Fighting Irish backslided with just 16 wins from 2007 to 2009. After his dismissal in 2009, Notre Dame had to take over six years to pay off his contract. 

But as Cowherd added, “Charlie just wore people out… I don’t think this Belichick group fits college football. I think their personalities are curt, outspoken. It’s by pro standards. It’s rough, it’s hard, it doesn’t work in many pro environments. It’s not going to work in college.” For someone who won the Super Bowl six times, there’s going to be high expectations awaiting him in college football. And he’s going to bring transformation because he knows where UNC stands. The question is, can the Tar Heels players embrace that transformation?

Can Bill Belichick revive North Carolina?

People who know Bill Belichick personally feel that it’s a long shot, even just sticking with UNC. Colin Cowherd said, “I’ve called multiple people that know Bill, and they just can’t wrap their brain around it so I can root for something. I can simultaneously hope he does well. I want to watch the games but think it could be a mess.” His choice to enter college football surprised even his former star Tom Brady, but he still credited Belichick, saying that UNC is “getting an obviously tremendous coach.”

It’s not going to be a walk in the park for Bill Belichick, though. It’s not going to be like the New England Patriots, where he had the NFL GOAT winning him Super Bowls. North Carolina is among the worst performing teams in the ACC this season, finishing 6-6. Their schedule is bad; no ranked opponents, and no significant wins. Can somebody with decades of NFL experience transform this lackluster program?

The main thing is going to be how Bill Belichick connects with his players. If both parties can come to a mutual understanding, this uncertain transition could go down in history as one of the best decisions. If not, we can only hope that it doesn’t leave UNC disillusioned.