It used to be that there was no stronger brand in football than a “Bill Belichick-coached” outfit. For most of his nearly 50 years in the pros, the phrase connoted teams that prepared for every scenario, executed directions to perfection and met all the moments in between to secure victory time and again. But since the NFL turned its back on Belichick, who stepped down to the college ranks and took the head job at North Carolina seemingly for appearances, the Belichick-coached team slogan has become less of a mark of excellence than a bright warning label for a program run amok.
The concerns at this juncture, still short of midway through Belichick’s freshman season, are overwhelming. The misleading record, the stark images of home fans deserting a blowout loss to Clemson before half-time, the dramatic talent deficit – those were predictable outcomes for a septuagenarian taskmaster trying his hand at coaching college kids. But Belichick isn’t simply out of his element. He looks for all the world to be asleep at the wheel, too.
