A rival coach says he thinks Bill Belichick may have some issues at North Carolina, but that those issues aren't hard to figure out and solve.
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An anonymous Group of 5 coach told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and Ralph D. Russo that Belichick's roster simply isn't good enough to compete in a Power 4 conference. The coach said his program was often going head-to-head with North Carolina in the transfer portal for the same players, which raised eyebrows.
"What I think they miscalculated is with the way they were taking (players) in the portal and paying dudes," the coach said. "It made me wonder, did they actually understand the landscape they were in? Did they understand that they're in the ACC, not like Conference USA or the Sun Belt?
"Like, we got beat by North Carolina on a bunch of kids. I was like, why the f— is North Carolina beating us on kids? When I keep running up against the same P4s over and over again in recruiting, I'm like, all right, they're gonna suck."
Belichick hit the portal hard after taking over in Chapel Hill, bringing in 41 transfers. The class was praised early, but so far it looks like quantity over quality. The Tar Heels are 2-2, with both wins coming against FCS opponents.
Belichick has focused on developing the talent he has, but the ceiling may not be high enough for North Carolina to make noise in the ACC this year. It's a quick and harsh lesson for one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, now adjusting to the realities of the college game.
The Tar Heels will try to change the narrative Saturday when they host Clemson.
