Washington (AFP) – Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who guided the NFL club to a record six Super Bowl crowns, suffered a humbling start to his collegiate coaching career. The 73-year-old American, who signed a three-year deal worth at least $10 million a season to start coaching the University of North Carolina this year, watched his Tar Heels lose 48-14 on Monday to visiting Texas Christian. It was the most points ever given up by North Carolina in a season opener and the most any team head coached by Belichick had ever surrendered.
“They just outplayed us, they outcoached us and they were better than we were. That’s all there is to it,” Belichick said. “They did a lot more things right than we did. Give them credit for being the better team. We have quite a bit to work on.”
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Belichick’s squad looked unprepared for the challenge in the humiliating disaster. “We’re better than what we were tonight, but we have to go out there and show that and prove it,” Belichick said. “Nobody’s going to do it for us. We’re going to have to do it ourselves and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The embarrassing loss came before a sellout home crowd that included past UNC sport stars such as NBA icon Michael Jordan, NFL legend Lawrence Taylor, and soccer star Mia Hamm. Also there was Jordan Hudson, Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend. She was chatting with Belichick on the sidelines during the defeat.
As unhappy as Belichick was at the result, he was concerned about the Tar Heels’ mistakes more than the top plays by the Horned Frogs. “We just can’t perform well doing some of the things we did. We’ve got to be better than that,” Belichick said. “We had too many self-inflicted wounds we have to eliminate before we can even worry about addressing our opponent. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ll get at it.”
The Tar Heels visit Charlotte next week and host Richmond the week after before starting their Atlantic Coast Conference campaign at home against powerhouse Clemson.
© 2024 AFP
