ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum appeared on Get Up on Friday morning and delivered what he framed as a long-overdue assessment of Bill Belichick’s decision to take the North Carolina head coaching job, calling the trajectory of that choice embarrassing on multiple levels and suggesting the six-time Super Bowl champion should walk away rather than continue into a second season, per Awful Announcing.
“Ending like he is going to end is really embarrassing, and sad, and in many ways, pathetic,” Finebaum said. “He only took this job because he was bitter that he couldn’t get an NFL job. He chose the wrong place. He has tried to use the magic of yesteryear, and it simply hasn’t worked. He won’t get fired, but he should seriously consider retirement.”
Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum looks on prior to the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.
Belichick’s Tar Heels went 4-8 in his debut 2025 season
Finebaum added that five wins in 2026 would constitute a success by the standards currently surrounding the program and that such an outcome would still represent what he called “another embarrassment.” He also cited the over-under for North Carolina in Las Vegas, which he said sits at 4.5 wins.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich supported Finebaum’s take from a different angle. “I would just be shocked if he would want to continue after another embarrassing season,” she said on the same program. “The guy is a winner, he’s a competitor.”
Paul Finebaum: “Ending like [Bill Belichick] is going to end is really embarrassing, and sad, and in many ways, pathetic… He only took [the UNC] job because he was bitter that he couldn’t get an NFL job… He won’t get fired, but he should seriously consider retirement.” pic.twitter.com/ag6eFIRHyO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 17, 2026
The results from Belichick’s debut season in Chapel Hill offered Finebaum’s criticism factual grounding. North Carolina finished 4-8 and 2-6 in the ACC, finishing last in the 17-team conference in total offense and first downs.
The Tar Heels suffered three blowout losses over the first five weeks of the season: 48-14 to TCU, 34-9 to UCF, and 38-10 to Clemson, the last of which prompted Finebaum’s first major public criticism of the program in fall 2025.
Finebaum’s comments landed on the very day Belichick was holding a long media session with reporters in Charlotte ahead of the Tar Heels’ second season. Belichick is optimistic, pointing to improvements in program culture and a recruiting class that several national publications ranked in the top 15.
“If you recruit good players, you’re going to have good teams,” Belichick said.
His team opens the 2026 season against TCU on August 29 in Dublin, Ireland, at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, with the noon ET kickoff airing on ESPN, the same network from which Finebaum made his remarks Friday morning.