Paul Finebaum rips Bill Belichick, predicts he won’t finish second season at UNC
New England Patriots
“I’m not pulling for Bill Belichick. He’s a grouch. He’s a bully. And his career in college is about to go down in flames.”
Bill Belichick’s first season as head coach at the University of North Carolina left a lot to be desired.
The former Patriots coaching legend and six-time Super Bowl champion did little to elevate the Tar Heels as a contender in 2025 — with UNC finishing 4-8 on the season.
Beyond the lack of results on the field, Belichick’s brief tenure so far in the college ranks has been rife with off-the-field drama and distractions — with his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, drawing more headlines than the play of his team.
Things haven’t quieted down so far in 2026, as UNC general manager and longtime Belichick associate Michael Lombardi was placed on administrative leave in late July — with The Athletic reporting that a complaint to human resources prompted action from the university.
Belichick’s son, Steve, has also been on indefinite medical leave since early August — with the Tar Heels operating without a defensive coordinator in the ramp-up to a new season.
Expectations aren’t all that high for UNC in 2026, with oddsmakers setting the Tar Heels for just 4.5 wins this year.
But according to longtime college football pundit Paul Finebaum, Belichick won’t even get the chance to finish out his second season in Chapel Hill.
Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday, Finebaum didn’t hold back when asked to assess Belichick’s time in North Carolina so far.
“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. He lost Michael Lombardi, his chief assistant and GM. His son disappeared from the staff a couple of weeks ago as defensive coordinator. It is mass chaos in Chapel Hill… I don’t think Bill Belichick is going to survive until the end of the season.”
It’s been a rough stretch for Belichick, who departed the Patriots after a disastrous four-win season in 2023 and was not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility earlier this year.
Even though Belichick’s resume in the NFL ranks speaks for itself, Finebaum argued that the coaching legend is actively hurting his legacy due to what has transpired since he first joined the Tar Heels.
“The idea that somebody who has easily wrapped up the title as the greatest NFL coach of all time, with his six championships in the Super Bowl … is going to go down in flames. But he did it to himself,” Finebaum said. “He couldn’t accept that nobody in the NFL wanted him anymore, and because he is Bill Belichick and he knows more than anybody, even though we now know that it was Tom Brady who led him to all those Super Bowl championships. … Bill Belichick had to find a university that would offer him a job, and he would show the world that he is the greatest coach of all time.”
“Instead, he’s proven to be a disaster. He’s one of the worst college football coaches in a short period of time I have ever seen. And I see no way this is going to be a successful landing or ending for Belichick.”
Belichick and the Tar Heels will open the 2026 in Ireland with a matchup against TCU on Saturday.
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