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Bill Belichick’s coaching debut in college football began with a roaring start, but came crashing down as TCU ran up the score on his UNC Tar Heels, 48-14, on Monday night.
During his first postgame press conference, Belichick was his normal stoic self, as he was when he coached the New England Patriots. But this time was justified, considering there wasn’t much to talk about positively after starting off with an opening-drive touchdown and letting that momentum slip the Horned Frogs’ way for the rest of the game.
Belichick, surrounded by “the tackiest” balloon-arch backdrop, said the Tar Heels simply need to be better in every phase.
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UNC football coach Bill Belichick on Aug. 20, 2025, during a press conference inside the Kenan Football Center. (IMAGN)
“It was a great atmosphere for the game here tonight. The fans had tremendous energy,” Belichick said in his opening remarks. “We played competitively, and then just couldn’t sustain it. So, obviously we have a lot of work to do. We need to do a better job all the way around – coaching, playing, all three phases of the game. Just wasn’t up to what it needs to be, and we’re a lot better than that. We need to work on those things and show that on Saturday on a short turnaround.
“Give TCU credit, they came in and did a good job. They were clearly the better team tonight. They deserved to win, and they did it decisively.”
BILL BELICHICK’S UNC COACHING DEBUT ENDS IN BLOWOUT HOME LOSS TO TCU
There was some obvious national reaction to watching Belichick’s Tar Heels take a beating at home on Monday night, with some pointing to the fact that his worst-ever loss in the NFL was a 38-3 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. That was his final year coaching the franchise after winning numerous Super Bowls, so a 34-point loss to kick off college wasn’t what Belichick had in mind to begin this next chapter.
Also, some fans took exception to his girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, being spotted on the sideline talking to him before kickoff.
As the game went along, it was clear that TCU adjusted after UNC’s 83-yard opening-drive score, and they began to run away with the game after quarterback Josh Hoover got on track.
Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on from the sideline during the TCU Horned Frogs game at Kenan Stadium on Sept. 1, 2025, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CBS Sports college football writer John Talty even questioned if the Tar Heels were playing for their coaches after the deficit got so large.
“This is a straight up whuppin’,” he wrote on X. “Steve Belichick’s defense looks like it has quit out there against TCU. …This is a straight up embarrassing performance from Bill Belichick’s team. The effort levels are atrocious.”
It was always going to be a challenge for Belichick, no matter his resume, to turn the Tar Heels program around immediately. There were over 70 transfers that came to Chapel Hill, and putting together a new program with new schemes certainly doesn’t happen right away.
Head coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half at Kenan Stadium on Sept. 1, 2025, in Chapel Hill. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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However, with the pomp and circumstance there Monday night as well as the national spotlight, this start for UNC wasn’t what football fans are used to from a Belichick-run team.
As he mentioned, it’s a short week for the Tar Heels, who will play Saturday against the Charlotte 49ers.
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