These are some surreal days in Chapel Hill, N.C., where six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick, 73, has gone back to school as coach of the University of North Carolina’s football program. After spending 49 seasons in the NFL as an assistant and head coach, Belichick has imported his pro philosophy into the program, especially when it comes to the secrecy—reasonable souls could say paranoia—he made famous during his tenure with the New England Patriots. Whereas former UNC coach Mack Brown enjoyed bantering with reporters who were welcome to witness a healthy chunk of Tar Heels practices, Belichick has padlocked the gates. Under Brown, “it would be a whole bunch of sh-ts and giggles,” says Inside Carolina reporter Adam Smith, who’s covered the team for more than two decades. “Now, it’s just completely the opposite.”
North Carolina football last secured a conference championship in 1980, has won more than 10 games in a season just once this century, and finished under .500 a year ago. Yet on Sept. 1, Labor Day, North Carolina will host TCU, in a nationally televised prime-time slot on ESPN; it’s the only college football game scheduled on the national holiday.
All eyes are on Carolina, solely due to Belichick.
He announced that a forthcoming Hulu documentary “will showcase our football program.” His relationship with girlfriend Jordon Hudson, 24, and the level of influence she may or may not exert over him and the UNC program, has become a subject of widespread fascination. Even in college sports, where the cult of the head coach looms large, the attention Belichick has delivered to a middling program stands out.
But get this: it’s the players who score the touchdowns, make the tackles, and win the championships. In all the blanket coverage of Belichick, this fundamental truth is often overlooked.
So in advance of UNC’s opening game, we’ll put a little shine on the actual athletes. Here are four UNC players to watch…
