When a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach like Bill Belichick signed on to lead the UNC Tar Heels, the buzz around the team was naturally electric. With his NFL-level five-year, $50 million contract, Belichick brought the belief that ‘Chapel Bill’ could turn UNC’s football program into the next powerhouse. After all, the school was mostly known for basketball anyway.
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But five games into the 2025 season, the reality has been sobering, to say the least. Fresh off a humiliating 38–10 loss to Clemson that exposed glaring cracks in Bill Belichick’s experiment, the Tar Heels currently sit at 2–3, and no Power Four wins.
In his postgame remarks on Saturday, Belichick tried to stay composed, saying, “We’re gonna get on the right track here.” But the performance simply doesn’t match the optimism.
And as frustration builds among fans and boosters, former NFL stars Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe debated whether the UNC head coach truly has the support he needs.
For Johnson, better days are possible, but only if those around Belichick open their wallets.
“If you’re a UNC booster, you need to open up your pocketbook… You got to pay to play. You got to pay to win. You have the right man for the job … all you need now is the backing. The backing has to come from the sponsors, from those with big pockets on the outside that graduated there,” Ocho said on the Nightcap podcast.
The former Bengals WR then doubled down, pointing to the cliché that Belichick’s pedigree alone makes him worth backing. “He’s had success at the highest level. He’s trying to show NFL teams that he can also coach at the younger level, be more lean, and do it on both ends of the spectrum,” Johnson added.
But right after, the former wideout offered an interesting take, pointing to Michael Jordan, UNC’s most famous alum, as a potential difference-maker.
“Tell me who’s the richest person right now that went to the University of North Carolina? One of arguably the greatest basketball players ever,” Johnson teased, before naming MJ as someone who could “help with that NIL situation” and speed up a rebuild.
That’s when Shannon Sharpe jumped in to bring the debate back down to earth.
“People with long money like to invest in things they like… What does Michael Jordan like? [Basketball and golf]. What is North Carolina known for? [Basketball],” Sharpe countered.
The NFL Hall of Famer’s point was clear: While Bill Belichick may be the most accomplished coach UNC has ever hired, his success depends less on his resume and more on whether the school’s power players are willing to fund football like they do basketball.
And the reality is- until those deep pockets align with Belichick’s ambition, UNC’s “rebuild” may remain stuck between vision and execution.
Meanwhile, from the ex-Patriots HC’s perspective, he probably wouldn’t worry much, considering he will reportedly net $30 million if fired today. Still, the hits his reputation has taken since joining CFB are a case study in themselves. And the only solution to both Belichick and UNC’s woes is the same: wins on the field.
