Despite being long removed from his tenure as Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick went out of his way on multiple occasions this year to take shots at his former bosses in New England. On Monday night, Belichick finally got his chance to prove those bosses -- Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan Kraft -- that they were wrong for cutting him loose after a 4-13 season in 2023.
Yet Day 1 of the Belichick Revenge Tour was an absolute failure.
And that may be putting it lightly.
Almost nine months after he was hired to coach the University of North Carolina football team, Belichick made his debut with the Tar Heels at home against the TCU Horned Frogs. Everything was looking up when UNC marched down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game and then forced a TCU punt. But then things went south -- and quickly.
TCU scored to tie the game later in the first quarter, then took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Horned Frogs made it a 17-7 lead with a pick-six off starting quarterback Gio Lopez and then drove for a field goal to take a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Whatever Belichick told his players at halftime didn't help much, as TCU scored on the first play of the second half on a 75-yard touchdown run. That was just part of the Horned Frogs scoring 41 straight points to take a 41-7 lead.
The atmosphere before the game in Chapel Hill was described by those on scene as unprecedented in the history of UNC football. Michael Jordan and Lawrence Taylor were among the many big names who showed up to see the spectacle in person. By the middle of the third quarter, it looked like half the stadium was empty.
Also unprecedented was ESPN's game broadcast showing a graphic that Lopez had not completed a pass since 8:12 ET. It took Lopez 127 minutes to complete that next pass.
Even the positive development of the second half -- Max Johnson taking over for an injured Lopez and leading the Tar Heels on a touchdown drive -- carried some negativity, as it showed that Belichick might have made the wrong choice for his starting quarterback. (Johnson went 9-for-11 for 103 yards and a touchdown. Lopez was 4-for-10 for 69 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, minus-10 rushing yards and a lost fumble.)
The final score was 48-14, with TCU mercifully taking a knee in the red zone to drain the clock and prevent further embarrassment for Belichick and the Tar Heels.
Just two weeks ago, Belichick took a shot at the Patriots through the media, telling The Boston Globe's Ben Volin that one of the best parts of coaching in college is that "there's no owner, (and) there's no owner's son." Earlier in the summer, Belichick didn't like hearing that Robert Kraft said his biggest risk as an owner was giving up a first-round pick to hire the unproven Belichick in 2000. So Belichick gave a statement to ESPN that he was the one who took a big risk by accepting the Patriots job.
Last winter, a Belichick "confidante" told ESPN that Belichick going to UNC was "a big (bleep) you to the NFL" and that Belichick was "disgusted" and "tired of the stupidness" of the NFL.
Monday was the first opportunity for Belichick to prove the NFL wrong for voting him "off the island." A blowout loss with the whole nation watching didn't accomplish that goal.
The Tar Heels won't have to wait long for their next game, as they'll make the short trip to Charlotte on Saturday. The 49ers are 37-79 in their history, and they lost their season opener by a 34-11 score to Appalachian State. This will have to be an easy win for Belichick and the Tar Heels, or else the entire experiment could come under some serious scrutiny before anybody anticipated.
Prior to Monday night's game, Belichick told ESPN's Holly Rowe in a joking tone that he hoped his college debut went better than his NFL head coaching debut, when he and the Browns lost 26-14 to Jimmy Johnson and the Cowboys. Belichick did not get his wish.
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