Report: Bill Belichick’s UNC football is an ‘unstructured mess’ with a divided locker room
"There's no culture, no organization. It's a complete disaster."
The beginning of Bill Belichick’s time as head coach of North Carolina football has not gone smoothly.
The Tar Heels, fresh off of a 38-10 shellacking at the hands of Clemson, are 2-3 — and 0-1 in ACC play.
There may be bigger issues within Belichick’s program, according to a report from WRAL, a local TV station in Raleigh. The locker room is divided, and the coaching staff has been “disorganized”, the outlet reported.
“It’s an unstructured mess,” an unnamed source with first hand knowledge of the program told the outlet. “There’s no culture, no organization. It’s a complete disaster.”
Part of the selling point for Belichick’s program was that it would function as a proving ground and pipeline to the NFL. It would be like the “33rd team” of the 32-team professional league, he said.
One parent told WRAL that the six-time Super Bowl championship coach has created a troubling environment.
“It’s all starting at the top, and the boys are being affected,” a parent of a current UNC player said. “I don’t fault the players; I fault the leadership that created this toxic environment. There’s an individualistic mindset. The boys are young, and they are feeding into it.”
The outlet listed two players, Khmori House and Thaddeus Dixon, who had previously played for Belichick’s son, Steve Belichick, at the University of Washington as names that their sources brought up when discussing preferential treatment.
“Dixon’s family has field access on game days, something that no other family is believed to have,” the report said.
Communcation also appears to be an issue, with parents accusing Belichick of shutting people out.
“There’s been no communication with coaches and parents, period,” a parent of a current UNC player said. “None, zero, zilch. Not one email from a coach, one text, phone call, nothing.”
There have also been reports of Belichick banning Patriots scouts and directing staffers not to tweet about anything related to the Patriots.
Inside Carolina reported that UNC is “no longer moving forward” with a documentary project that had been in the works with Hulu.
The Tar Heels have seven games remaining this season, including a matchup at California on Oct. 17.
Just five games into the season, things are looking bleak.
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